From Terrorists to Trading Partners: Smoothing Kazakh-Afghan Relations
On July 10, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu visited Kabul to meet with Taliban officials and discuss future bilateral cooperation. During the trip, Nurtleu held meetings with both the deputy prime minister and the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan.
The visit marks the latest in a series of diplomatic exchanges between the two countries since the Taliban seized power in 2021, following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops. Despite the Taliban remaining on Kazakhstan's official list of terrorist organizations until 2024, Astana established ties with the new regime as early as September 2021. Since then, dialogue has mainly centered around boosting trade and developing transportation networks.
At the same time, Afghanistan's presence in Kazakhstan has visibly expanded. Just last year, a Taliban-led delegation hosted an exhibition of Afghan goods in Almaty. In neighboring Russia, similar patterns of engagement have emerged. The Kabul-Moscow relationship reached a milestone earlier this month when Russia became the first country to officially recognize the Taliban government.
Despite the growing relationship, Kazakhstan yet to formally recognize the Taliban-led government.
Kazakhstan continues to engage with the Taliban regime at an accelerating pace, even without recognizing its legitimacy. Nurtleu's recent trip to Kabul further demonstrated this, with discussions covering agriculture, digitalization, trade, and logistics.
Most notably, the Kazakh foreign minister signed a memorandum reportedly pledging $500 million in investment for a railway project in western Afghanistan. The railway would stretch from the town of Turgundi, near the Turkmen border, to the city of Herat, about 100 kilometers further inside Afghanistan. It would serve as a key piece of infrastructure for Kazakhstan, allowing the movement of goods toward Pakistani seaports, thereby reducing reliance on northern routes through Russia.
Beyond transit, the two countries also hope to boost bilateral trade. 'Today, Afghanistan has become one of our important partners with whom we are actively developing a trade and economic agenda,' Nurtleu stated. He went on to say that the two sides aim to increase trade turnover to $3 billion. 'To this end, Kazakhstan is ready to increase the supply of agricultural products, fuel and lubricants, mineral fertilizers, and chemical industry goods.'
That would be a massive rise, considering that trade turnover between the two countries in 2024 stood at just $545 million, with 97 percent of that coming from Kazakh exports. Even so, these numbers already place Kazakhstan among Afghanistan's top trading partners.
High-level meetings between Kazakh and Afghan officials are becoming increasingly common. In May, acting Taliban Minister of Commerce and Industry Nooruddin Aziz attended the Astana International Forum. There, he met directly with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the first such meeting with a Taliban official.
Although no major deals came out of the meeting, the significance was hard to miss. This was the first time Tokayev had publicly met with Taliban representatives, made possible only after the group's removal from Kazakhstan's list of terrorist organizations 19 years after it was first added.
Explaining the decision for the removal in June 2024, Tokayev said: 'Kazakhstan removed the Taliban regime from the terrorist list based on the importance of developing trade and economic cooperation with modern Afghanistan. This regime is a long-term factor in the region, and we must work with it.'
Kazakhstan's deepening ties with the Taliban mirror Russia's trajectory in many ways. Both countries initially condemned the group but quickly pivoted to pragmatic engagement. Since 2021, Russia has expanded trade with Afghanistan and sent several aid packages, all while the Taliban remained designated as a terror organization.
That changed in April 2025, when Moscow officially delisted the group. Then in early July, Russia became the first country to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government – a move that prompted the raising of the Taliban's distinctive white-and-black flag over the Afghan embassy in Moscow.
Whether Kazakhstan will follow suit is still an open question. But given the increasing number of diplomatic meetings, infrastructure commitments, and trade ambitions, formal recognition appears to be less a matter of if than when. Whether driven by commerce or regional security, the logic is becoming harder to ignore.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Diplomat
18 hours ago
- The Diplomat
Is the Germany-Taliban Dialogue a Preview of a Bigger Picture?
For the first time, Germany has allowed envoys from the Taliban to enter the country to arrange deportation flights for Afghans. On July 21, Germany announced that it had permitted two Taliban envoys to enter the country to facilitate the deportation of Afghan nationals with criminal records. This marked the first instance since the Taliban's forceful takeover of Kabul in August 2021 that Germany allowed Taliban officials to enter its territory. Following the takeover, Germany closed its embassy in Kabul and suspended 'comprehensive development cooperation and stabilization support' with Afghanistan. However, according to the Foreign Office, Berlin continued 'to be significantly engaged in the fields of humanitarian assistance and basic services for the people in Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees in neighboring countries.' In particular, Germany focused its efforts on civil society and human rights, particularly for women and children, as well as taking part in regional and international efforts to address Afghanistan issues. Like many other nations, Germany does not formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan due to the regime's human rights abuses, especially its treatment of women and girls. Nevertheless, Germany has maintained 'technical contacts' with the Taliban to manage deportations, facilitated by Qatar. Despite its recent decision to allow Taliban envoys to enter the country to assist with the deportation process, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized that, while consular staff may work in the country, there will be no diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government. The Taliban envoys who arrived in Germany will work at the Afghanistan's embassy in Berlin and the Afghan consulate in Bonn. The German Foreign Office explained the decision by saying: 'The German government has an interest in ensuring that Afghan nationals in Germany receive adequate consular support – this includes, for example, the issuance of passports.' The Foreign Office noted that Afghan officials who were accredited before the Taliban's takeover are currently leading Afghanistan's diplomatic missions in Germany. However, the staff at these missions face significant challenges due to limited resources. After the Taliban regained power nearly four years ago, the German government decided to stop deportations to Afghanistan. However, with the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric, particularly from the far-right, Merz has now prioritized deportations. His predecessor, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, also pledged to expedite the removal of rejected asylum seekers and migrants with criminal records. This decision was made in response to violent attacks involving migrants and subsequent anti-immigrant sentiment, which is exacerbated by disproportionate media coverage of terror attacks linked to refugees, ultimately strengthening populist far-right movements. It was under Scholz that Germany began deporting Afghan nationals with criminal records to Afghanistan. Following months of secret negotiations facilitated by Qatar, the German government successfully deported 28 convicted criminals to Afghanistan in August 2024. On July 18, 2025 the German Interior Ministry confirmed the deportation of another 81 Afghan nationals who had failed asylum claims and held criminal convictions. These individuals transferred to Leipzig under police supervision, and from there were flown to Afghanistan on a chartered flight. This flight marked the first chartered deportation under Merz's administration. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt pushed for direct talks with the regime in Kabul to speed up regular deportations of rejected asylum seekers and convicted offenders to Afghanistan. Now the German government has decided to directly involve the Taliban in the deportations and allowed its envoys to enter the country. This indicates a policy shift in Germany's dealings with the Taliban. However, Berlin strongly maintains that the direct talks with the Taliban do not constitute diplomatic recognition of the group. Dobrindt stated that more EU member states are considering deportations to Afghanistan. 'We have spoken several times about the fact that the deportations to Afghanistan we have carried out are attracting great interest from other countries, who would like to take part in such operations,' he said at an informal EU Home Affairs Council meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. Among the EU member states, Germany is the first to have direct contact with the Taliban. Norway, which is not an EU member state, is the only European country to have accepted an acting envoy from the Taliban. It is important to note that Germany has a history of engaging in direct dialogue with the Taliban. In May 2011, Germany's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Michael Steiner, facilitated secret talks between the Taliban and the United States in Germany. This meeting involved U.S. officials from both the State Department and the CIA, as well as a relative of Mullah Omar, then the Taliban leader. It is believed that this encounter played a significant role in establishing the Taliban's office in Doha, Qatar, which proved instrumental in the Afghan peace process between the Taliban and the Trump administration. It would be premature to conclude that the direct dialogue between Germany and the Taliban will lead to any significant outcomes. However, the implications should not be underestimated. Germany's outreach provides a substantial diplomatic boost to the Taliban regime, which so far has resisted pressure from the international community. Rather than yielding to external pressures, the Taliban have effectively brought the international community to the negotiating table on their own terms, and their government appears to be gaining more ground. Now for the first time in four years, the Taliban have engaged in direct dialogue and been allowed to send their envoys to operate in a Western capital, albeit without formal diplomatic recognition. This marks a potential first step toward the official recognition that the Taliban has long sought.
Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
Epstein associate Maxwell seeks immunity as condition for testimony to US Congress
FILE PHOTO: Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell stands at the podium to address Judge Alison Nathan during her sentencing in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S. June 28, 2022. By Richard Cowan A longtime associate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the subject of a political storm surrounding President Donald Trump, on Tuesday sought immunity from future prosecution as a condition for testifying to a U.S. congressional committee. The Republican-led House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform aims to conduct a deposition of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell on August 11 at the prison in Tallahassee, Florida, where she is serving a 20-year sentence. Maxwell, Epstein's longtime girlfriend, was convicted in New York in 2021 of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. "Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity," Maxwell's lawyer David Markus told Representative James Comer, who chairs the House committee, in a letter. Markus laid down additional conditions for a deposition, including conducting it somewhere other than the prison and being provided with the committee's questions in advance. Maxwell, Markus added, would testify to the committee in a public setting if she were to be granted clemency. Maxwell is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn her conviction. Trump has said he was not considering a presidential pardon for Maxwell. Questions over Trump's past relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors, and his administration's handling of records related to the case have dogged the president for weeks, including during a weekend visit to Scotland. Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. Trump has said that he cut off ties with Epstein years before Epstein's death. Democrats in Congress and some of Trump's core supporters have demanded the release of documents involving Epstein and Maxwell. Epstein served a 13-month jail sentence after pleading guilty in 2008 to a Florida state felony prostitution charge. Democrats on Tuesday sought more information about the matter. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse wrote to the Justice Department, asking for a copy of the transcript of a recent conversation a department official had with Maxwell. In addition, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called on the FBI to conduct a "counterintelligence threat assessment" to determine the risk to U.S. national security if a foreign entity were to gain access to the Epstein files. "Could our adversaries use that information to blackmail someone like the president or other senior leaders in government?" Schumer asked. © (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Two Rights Groups Are First Israeli Voices to Accuse Israel of Genocide
JERUSALEM, July 28 (Reuters) – Two Israeli human rights organisations said on Monday Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the first major voices in Israeli society to level the strongest possible accusation against the state, which vehemently denies it. Rights group B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel released their reports at a press conference in Jerusalem, saying Israel was carrying out 'coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza strip'. 'The report we are publishing today is one we never imagined we would have to write,' said Yuli Novak, B'Tselem's executive director. 'The people of Gaza have been displaced, bombed and starved, left completely stripped of their humanity and rights.' Physicians for Human Rights Israel focused on damage to Gaza's healthcare system, saying: 'Israel's actions have destroyed Gaza's healthcare infrastructure in a manner that is both calculated and systematic'. Israel has fended off accusations of genocide since the early days of the Gaza war, including a case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice in the Hague that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned as 'outrageous'. Israel has consistently said its actions are justified as self-defence, and Hamas is to blame for harm to civilians, for refusing to release hostages and surrender, and for operating in civilian areas, which the militant group denies. A spokesperson for the Israeli government called the allegation made by the rights groups on Monday 'baseless'. 'There is no intent, (which is) key for the charge of genocide … it simply doesn't make sense for a country to send in 1.9 million tons of aid, most of that being food, if there is an intent of genocide,' said spokesperson David Mencer. Israel's military also rejected the reports' findings as 'baseless'. It said it abides by international law and takes unprecedented measures to prevent harm to civilians while Hamas uses them as 'human shields'. Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Israel has often described that attack, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, as genocidal. Since then, Israel's offensive has killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins, and displaced nearly the entire population of more than two million. Accusations of genocide have particular gravity in Israel because of the origins of the concept in the work of Jewish legal scholars in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust. Israeli officials have in the past said using the word against Israel was libellous and antisemitic. When Amnesty International said in December that Israel had committed genocidal acts, Israel's foreign ministry called the global rights group a 'deplorable and fanatical organisation'. The 1948 Genocide Convention, adopted globally after the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis, defines genocide as 'acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group'. PALESTINIAN PLIGHT GAINING ATTENTION At a Jerusalem cafe, Carmella, a 48-year-old teacher whose grandparents survived the Holocaust, said she was distressed over the suffering an hour's drive away, inside Gaza. 'It feels difficult to me as an Israeli, as a Jew, to watch those images and feel anything but tremendous compassion and horror, to be honest. I feel horror.' International attention to the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza has intensified in recent weeks, with U.N. agencies saying the territory is running out of food. Israel, which controls all supplies in to Gaza, says it has let enough food in, and blames the U.N. for failing to distribute it. Israel shut off all supplies in March for nearly three months, reopening the territory in May but with restrictions it says are needed to prevent aid from ending up in the hands of fighters. Since then, its forces have shot dead hundreds of Gazans trying to reach food distribution sites, according to the United Nations. Israel has announced measures in recent days to increase aid supplies, including pausing fighting in some locations, allowing airlifts of food and safer corridors for aid. Throughout the conflict, Israeli media have tended to focus mainly on the plight of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Footage widely broadcast in other countries of destruction and casualties in Gaza is rarely shown on Israeli TV. That has been changing, with recent images of starving children having a little more impact, said Oren Persico from The Seventh Eye, a group that tracks trends in Israeli media. 'It's very slowly evolving,' he said. 'You see cracks.' But he did not expect the genocide allegation would spark a major shift in attitudes: 'The Israeli perception is: 'what do you want from us? It's Hamas' fault, if it would only put down its weapons and (release) the hostages this could all be over'.' In an editorial in the Jerusalem Post on Sunday, Dani Dayan, the chairman of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, said it was not accurate to accuse Israel of committing genocide. 'But that does not mean we should not acknowledge the suffering of civilians in Gaza. There are many men, women, and children with no connection to terrorism who are experiencing devastation, displacement, and loss,' he wrote. 'Their anguish is real, and our moral tradition obligates us not to turn away from it.'
