Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs in the interim government of Afghanistan, formed by the radical Taliban movement (banned in the Russian Federation), Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund urged Russian businessmen to consider investing in the Afghan economy. He stated this during a meeting in Kabul with representatives of the business circles of both countries.
As noted in a post on his X page, “the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that Afghanistan currently offers many opportunities for trade and investment, and encouraged local and foreign investors to take advantage of the opportunities". Afghanistan, “despite its poverty, is rich in natural resources, which makes it attractive for investment”, the Deputy Prime Minister continued. He assured the participants of the meeting of his readiness to provide them "full assistance" for all questions.
Russian entrepreneurs are “interested in investing in various sectors of the Afghan economy, especially industry” and “expressed a desire to expand trade cooperation with Afghan businessmen”.
The Taliban movement launched a large-scale operation to establish control over Afghanistan after the US announced its decision to withdraw its troops there in the spring of 2021. On August 15 of the same year, the radicals entered Kabul without a fight, and on September 7 announced the composition of the provisional government.
Despite the measures taken by the Taliban, the economic situation in Afghanistan remains extremely difficult. According to the UN, 22.8 million Afghans are chronically malnourished and 8.7 million are hungry. This is largely due to the fact that radicals have access to only 0.1% of the government's reserves (of $9.4 billion), a significant portion of which has been frozen by the United States.