Russia and Afghanistan agreed Thursday to boost economic cooperation and trade, inking more than a dozen memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth over $100 million, according to Kabul's Information Ministry.
The agreements were signed during a meeting in Kabul between Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk and his Afghan counterpart, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The 15 deals include imports of medicines, wheat, cooking oil and flour from Russia, and fruit exports to Moscow.
Overchuk also urged Prime Minister Mullah Hassan Akhund to discuss ways to bolster economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
In a separate statement, Overchuk said that Moscow is interested in further expanding trade ties with Afghanistan, Russian news agency Tass reported.
"Russia intends to achieve this by expanding trade ties—including by providing support for the export of Afghan products to Russia," said the statement.
The Afghan government, it said, is implementing major infrastructure projects and seeking to leverage its advantageous geographical location by fostering transport and logistics connectivity between the northern and southern parts of the Eurasian continent.
Overchuk proposed that Afghanistan establish cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC).
"For us, Afghanistan is an important country with which we seek to develop relations. We have an interest in the stability and sustainable development of Afghanistan and the entire region. We see that the Afghan government shares this goal," it added.
