Afghan Merchants Sign Five Trade MoUs Worth Over $1.5 Million with Russia's Dagestan

The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment announced that Afghan merchants have signed five commercial memorandums of understanding with merchants from Russia's Dagestan region, valued at more than $1.5 million.

The chamber stated in a press release that the agreements cover the fields of transport and foodstuffs.

These pacts come amid recent exchanges of visits between officials from the autonomous republic of Russia's Dagestan and Taliban officials.

The Taliban have been seeking alternative trade routes for more than four months following the closure of border and commercial crossings with Pakistan.

While routes through Central Asian countries, particularly Uzbekistan to the north, and Iran to the west remain open for trade, experts say they have not fully replaced Afghanistan's trade paths with Pakistan.

Additionally, the closure of the Pakistan crossings has led to sharp increases in prices of foodstuffs, industrial raw materials and medicines in the country.