A decision was made at the SCO summit in China to unfreeze relations with Kabul

Afghanistan’s strategic position at the junction of the international transport corridors “north-south” and “east-west”, the presence of large explored deposits of oil, gas, iron, non-ferrous metals, and other natural resources make it increasingly attractive for cooperation with the SCO countries.

As is known, back in 2005, the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group was created to maintain stability in that country, and in 2012, Afghanistan became an observer state in the SCO. The civil war and the rise to power in Kabul in August 2021 of the Taliban Movement, which is included in the list of terrorist organizations, certainly slowed down the process of Afghanistan’s integration with the SCO, but by now the situation in the Afghan direction is changing radically.

Despite the fact that an inclusive government has not yet been formed in Afghanistan that expresses the interests of all ethnic and religious groups of the population, human rights are violated, in particular women’s rights, dozens of terrorist groups continue their activities, the Taliban government is gradually emerging from international isolation. This is facilitated by the peaceful statements of the Taliban and specific measures to counter terrorism and drug trafficking. It is also taken into account that the leaders of the DT are not trying to spread their influence and ideology in the countries of Central Asia and other regions of the world, but are focused only on maintaining power in their country and bringing it out of the financial, economic and humanitarian crisis.

On April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation suspended the ban on the activities of the Taliban Movement, which opened the way to establishing a mutually beneficial partnership between Moscow and Kabul, carried out in the interests of the Russian and Afghan peoples. Russia aims to build full-fledged relations with Afghanistan in trade, economic and other areas, including the joint fight against drug trafficking and terrorism. The Russian side is grateful for the military operations carried out by the authorities of this state on its territory against the Afghan wing of ISIS – “Vilayat Khorasan” (banned in the Russian Federation), which professes the ultra-radical ideology of “global jihad”. Moscow believes that Afghanistan is capable of becoming an important link in the implementation of large energy and infrastructure projects in the future. For now, Russia’s trade and economic relations with Afghanistan are insignificant in volume and include only humanitarian aid, purchases of agricultural products and the implementation of a number of energy projects. Russia maintains diplomatic relations with Afghanistan through its embassy in Kabul and its consulate general in Mazar-i-Sharif, as well as through the Afghan embassy in Moscow. Afghan delegations regularly participate in the work of the PEF. The work of Russian agencies in the Afghan direction is coordinated through the Russian Foreign Ministry and within the framework of such regional platforms as the Moscow Consultation Format, the Neighbouring Countries Mechanism and others.

China, in turn, wants to include Afghanistan in its Belt and Road program, which provides for the implementation of infrastructure projects in many countries. Beijing sent its ambassador to Kabul and officially recognized the Taliban. The Chinese intend to equip mines for the extraction of minerals, build roads, tunnels, and create trade terminals in Afghanistan. The first step towards this has already been taken: a contract with a Chinese company for work on one of the world’s largest copper deposits, Mes Aynak, has been extended. In April 2025, the Chinese Ambassador to Kabul, Zhao Xing, sent an invitation to the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to take part in the next summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in China in September 2025. And it is not so important that the Afghan delegation, for some reason, could not take part in the Chinese summit, the main thing is that Beijing demonstrated a gesture of goodwill.

Following Russia and China, other SCO members are also developing bilateral relations with Afghanistan. India is moving from restraint in relations with Kabul after JT came to power to establishing dialogue and mutually beneficial relations with this country. Delhi’s fears about the possible dependence of the Taliban government on the policies of the Pakistani authorities have not been justified. Kabul is distancing itself from Islamabad and emphasizing its independence. This gives a “green light” to the rapprochement between Delhi and Kabul. India shows its interest in a stable and friendly Afghanistan, free from anti-Indian threats, and the Taliban sees international recognition and economic support in Delhi.

Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and other Central Asian countries have also begun active cooperation with Afghanistan. Uzbekistan’s position on Afghanistan is similar to the approaches of Russia and China. The leadership of Uzbekistan believes that stability in Afghanistan and the region can be achieved primarily through successful socio-economic development, which, in turn, is impossible without significant external participation and investment. Tashkent has already invested more than a billion dollars in gold and copper mining in the neighboring country. In total, 35 intergovernmental Uzbek-Afghan agreements have been signed for a total of $3 billion, of which 12 are investment agreements and the rest are trade agreements.

The head of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, in turn, said: “Today, Afghanistan has become one of our most important partners, with whom we are actively developing the trade and economic agenda. We aim to increase trade turnover to $3 billion per year – this goal is supported by both parties. To achieve this goal, Kazakhstan plans to increase the supply of agricultural products, fuels and lubricants, mineral fertilizers and chemical products. Kazakhstan has confirmed its intention to invest in the construction of the Turgundi-Herat railway.

The Kazakh side also expressed its readiness to further expand humanitarian programs aimed at increasing food security and ensuring access to medical services for the population of Afghanistan. Special attention is paid to intensifying cultural and humanitarian cooperation, including expanding social initiatives and educational opportunities. In this regard, Kazakhstan announced its intention to double the number of quotas for Afghan students within the framework of existing state support programs.

The dynamically developing bilateral relations of a number of SCO member states with Afghanistan are also supported by joint statements of this authoritative international organization. The Tianjin Declaration adopted following the 25th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State notes that the SCO countries are committed to the establishment of Afghanistan as an independent, neutral and peaceful state free from terrorism, war and drugs, and express their readiness to support the efforts of the international community to ensure peace and development in the country.

The meeting participants emphasized that “the formation of an inclusive government with broad participation of representatives of all ethnopolitical groups of Afghan society is the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in this country.” Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated the need to intensify the work of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group and develop specific proposals to support socio-economic and infrastructure projects in this Islamic republic. One of such mega-projects could be the construction and operation of the Trans-Afghan Railway, which will connect Central and South Asia. The European Union, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and further Southeast Asian states are interested in the new transport corridor.

Stanislav Ivanov, Leading research fellow at the IMEMO RAS, PhD (historical sciences)

 

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