The Taliban’s Finance Ministry says it is reactivating the Afghanistan–Saudi Arabia Joint Economic Commission on the orders of the group’s leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, in an effort to expand bilateral economic cooperation.
In a statement issued Thursday, the ministry said the decision followed internal consultations on resuming the commission’s activities. The first meeting of Afghan members of the commission has already been held.
According to the ministry, the meeting was attended by the Taliban’s deputy finance minister for policy, representatives of relevant government institutions and members of the private sector.
Participants discussed ways to expand economic cooperation between Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, including the exchange of expertise and information, trade facilitation and the prioritisation of joint projects. Taliban representatives also reviewed the history of economic cooperation between the two countries.
Earlier this month, the Taliban’s Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs announced the formation of a separate joint economic commission involving Afghanistan, China and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia and its embassy in Kabul have not yet commented on the reported reactivation of the Afghanistan–Saudi joint commission.
The first meeting of the Afghanistan–Saudi Arabia Joint Economic Commission was held in 2018 in Riyadh, bringing together officials from Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan’s former government to strengthen economic and trade relations.
