The statement was made during a business forum including representatives of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan in Kabul.

According to officials, Afghanistan’s imports from the Central Asian nation amounted to $426 million while the volume of exports stood at $11 million.

Items of exports include marble stone, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, fruits, Karakul skin and carpets, while imports include horses, chicken eggs, vegetables, pulse, flour, oil, petrol, gas, medicines, chemical fertilizer, glasses, construction iron bars, steel, car parts and motorcycles.

This comes as Afghanistan is seeking to reduce its trade reliance on its uneasy neighbour Pakistan.

Jankhan Alkozay, the deputy head ACCI, said that Kazakhstan could act as a transit point for trade between Afghanistan, Russia and China.

He said that Afghanistan produced 1 million ton of fruits and vegetables last year, of which, it exported 140000 tonnes, mainly to Pakistan.

Anwar Ismailov, counsellor of Kazakh embassy in Kabul, said that the visiting Kazakh trade delegation representing 11 top companies would talk with the Afghan counterparts.

Currently, 44 companies have invested in Afghanistan at the value of $30۰ million.