Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – The Taliban administration is in advanced negotiations with Russia and has opened talks with China to conduct trade in local currencies, bypassing the U.S. dollar, Afghanistan’s acting commerce minister revealed in an exclusive interview.
Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters that technical teams from Kabul and Moscow are working on mechanisms for settling hundreds of millions of dollars in trade using Afghan and Russian currencies. Similar proposals are being explored with China, he added, amid ongoing discussions with Beijing’s embassy in Kabul.
“We are currently engaged in specialised discussions on this matter, considering the regional and global economic perspectives, sanctions, and the challenges Afghanistan and Russia are facing,” Azizi said.
Afghanistan and Russia currently trade about $300 million annually, mainly in petroleum and plastic imports. Azizi expects that figure to rise significantly. Talks with China aim to build on an existing $1 billion in bilateral trade.
The move reflects a broader shift by Russia to reduce dependence on the dollar amid Western sanctions, and comes as Afghanistan sees fewer U.S. dollars entering due to aid cuts.
Afghanistan’s financial system has been largely isolated internationally since the Taliban took power in 2021, but Azizi said efforts to boost international investment and maintain currency stability are ongoing.
Neither Russia’s central bank nor China’s foreign ministry have commented on the negotiations.
