Taliban Commerce Minister Travels To India For Talks On Trade & Chabahar Port

Taliban Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi travelled to India on Wednesday at the head of a delegation.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement that the visit was made at India’s invitation and aims to activate and expand the use of Chabahar Port while encouraging Indian investment in the project.

The ministry said that boosting bilateral trade between Afghanistan and India is a key objective of the trip.

According to the statement, the delegation will visit the Pragati Maidan International Trade Fair and hold meetings with senior Indian officials, including the ministers of foreign affairs and commerce. The Taliban said talks will focus on expanding economic cooperation, facilitating trade, creating opportunities for joint investment and strengthening Afghanistan’s role in regional transit routes.

The ministry described the visit as an important step toward enhancing economic and trade relations between New Delhi and Kabul.

This marks the second Taliban minister-level visit to India in less than a month. Earlier, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi travelled to New Delhi, where he and Indian officials agreed to expand diplomatic and economic cooperation.

Azizi’s trip coincides with a suspension of Afghanistan’s trade relations with Pakistan, as all border crossings and commercial routes between the two countries remain closed.

Earlier this week, Azizi travelled to Iran to discuss expanding trade ties and increasing the use of Chabahar Port. The Taliban have signalled their intention to replace Pakistan’s ports, particularly Karachi, with Iran’s Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports.

Recently, the Taliban’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce urged the United States to extend the sanctions waiver for Chabahar Port. The current exemption is valid for six months. India has invested heavily in the port to gain access to markets in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Taliban officials have ordered Afghan traders to urgently find alternatives to Pakistan’s ports.

Meanwhile, Ariana Afghan Airlines announced special discounted cargo rates on the Delhi route, based on a directive from the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs.

Bakht-ur-Rahman Sharafat, head of Ariana, said: “Each kilogram of export cargo will cost $1, and import cargo 80 cents.” He noted that the previous rate was $2 per kilogram.

With relations between the Taliban and Pakistan at their lowest point in years, the Taliban are prioritising economic cooperation with India and Iran, aiming to bypass Pakistan’s ports entirely and build an economic corridor through Chabahar.

However, experts warn that international sanctions on Iran mean Chabahar is not yet a fully reliable option.

Currently, a significant share of Afghanistan’s trade is conducted through Chabahar and direct air routes to India. But shipping through Chabahar and Bandar Abbas is about 20 percent more expensive than using Pakistani ports.

Bilateral trade between Afghanistan and Iran has exceeded $1.6 billion in the past six months, surpassing Afghanistan’s trade volume with Pakistan.