NOURNEWS- Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the economic deputy of the prime minister of the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, arrived in Tehran last Saturday, November 4, at the head of an economic delegation. He is the highest-ranking Taliban official who has traveled to Tehran in two years after the group came to power in Afghanistan.
This trip takes place while in Iran, the policy of balancing and expanding relations with the East and the countries of the region, especially the neighboring countries, is on the agenda of Iranian government, and on the other hand, the Taliban, who are now ruling a war-torn country and a victim of 20 years of American occupation, is trying to develop its relations with neighboring countries, including Iran.
Tehran is going to examine the opportunities for economic cooperation with Kabul in the circumstances that in the last two years and after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, the countries of Russia, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Pakistan have also taken steps in this direction.
Iran's return to Afghanistan's seven billion dollar market
Afghanistan was always one of the five export destinations of Iranian products before the Taliban regime. This trend temporarily decreased after the Taliban came to power, and the country's imports from Iran dropped to one billion and 634 million dollars, which is the lowest amount in recent years. Now, after two years of the presence of the Taliban, it can be said that the Tehran-Kabul trade relations train has taken off once again.
The trend of declining economic relations between Iran and Afghanistan changed in 2023, and the Taliban-led government, after overcoming the crises after its establishment in Kabul, showed that it is gradually determined to strengthen its relations with the country's long-standing business partners, especially its neighbors.
Food and agricultural processing industries, fuel, basic goods such as flour, wheat, sugar, edible oil, plastic products, sweets and chocolate, tomato paste, eggs, greenhouses, vegetables, citrus fruits, ceramic tiles, medicine, medical equipment, Faucets, pipes, and construction fittings and construction materials such as cement and iron are among the imported products of Afghanistan from Iran.
On the other hand, sesame seeds, vegetable seeds, other plants and vegetable extracts, marble and travertine stones, as well as live animals are among the products that can be imported from Afghanistan.
Of course, these goods are considered the traditional fields of trade between the two countries, and with the technological developments that Iran has achieved in recent years, it is possible to export in sectors such as textiles, petroleum products, machinery, and other capital goods, as well as construction materials which happen to be needed by Afghanistan.
Transit, Iran's trump card
Considering the location of Iran and Afghanistan on the east-west corridor, “transit” can be one of the main axes of the relations between the two countries in the current situation; However, three other players, namely India, China, and Pakistan, have a strong presence in this field.
In the framework of its grand strategy, India has defined Afghanistan in its second strategic circle, which is considered the country's gateway to Central Asia. On the other hand, China, which, unlike India, has direct land access to Afghanistan through the Wakhan Corridor, sees Afghanistan in the context of its big transit route, i.e., the Belt and Road project. Pakistan is also trying to change Afghanistan's transit map after the withdrawal of foreign forces, first, this action will shorten the hand of its nuclear rival, India, from this country, and make the parallel route from Chabahar port to Afghanistan less effective in the best case.
Therefore, although the presence of these countries in Afghanistan's transit makes it difficult for Iran - because Iran sees its most important competitor, Pakistan, as the main actor - this area of cooperation is still Iran's trump card; According to “Mahmoud Siadat”, the head of Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, Afghanistan is landlocked and its access to open waters is through two routes, Iran and Pakistan, and considering the problems that have recently arisen between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the transit of Afghan goods from the Pakistani route has almost stopped, and Afghanistan's demand for transit through Iran has increased.
Based on this, one of the most critical topics of Iran-Afghanistan negotiations during Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar's visit to Tehran can be reaching executive agreements in the field of transit cooperation.
During the visit of the Afghanistan head of the Iran Trade Development Organization to Kabul last few months, agreements were also made in this field, including the increase in the working hours of the border customs of Milk, Mil 78, and Dogharoon to facilitate the export and transit process; During that trip, Afghan side also announced its readiness to open a transit route from Pakistan to Central Khorasan via Taftan-Chaman-Islam Qala-Mashhad route, which will reduce this route from 1,500 km to less than 1,000 km.
Despite the complications that exist in various political, economic, and security dimensions in the relations between Iran and Afghanistan, especially the unresolved issue of Iran's water rights and also the situation of Afghan immigrants in our country, Tehran-Kabul negotiations during Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar's visit to Iran can open new horizons in the establishment of relations between the two countries. Announcing the achievements of this trip in the coming days will be a good benchmark to evaluate the will of the parties in the path of removing some existing obstacles and facilitating all-round economic relations between Tehran and Kabul.
BY: Mohammad Ghaderi
NOURNEWS