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A recent Afghan ministerial delegation to India has resulted in the initiation of focussed discussions with the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) towards strengthening bilateral cooperation in the pharma sector.
The delegation has expressed keen interest in engaging with the Indian pharmaceutical industry to explore opportunities for strengthening pharma trade.
Pharmexcil has also urged pharma industry and member pharma exporting companies to give their inputs on the same. This would contribute significantly in the talks towards strengthening India–Afghanistan collaboration in the pharmaceutical sector.
The ongoing discussions with Pharmexcil are focusing on the long-term supply of medicines, investment opportunities, and resolving trade challenges. Issues like commercial and medical visas, air and land corridors for trade transit, and the use of the Chabahar port are also being discussed to facilitate smoother trade operations.
Afghan pharmaceutical officials are also slated to visit advanced Indian medicine production facilities, while an Indian delegation will explore the feasibility of setting up pharmaceutical production units in Kabul.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth USD 100 million was signed between Afghanistan-based Raoufi International Group and India's Zydus Lifesciences as part of the delegation visit. Under the deal, Zydus will initially export medicines to Afghanistan and later establish a local office and begin domestic manufacturing in the country.
The high-level Afghan trade delegation was led by minister of industry and commerce Al-Haj Nooruddin Azizi and is one of the highest-level engagements from the Taliban government since their 2021 takeover.
The visit is aimed to strengthen bilateral trade and investment, partly in response to trade disruptions caused by tensions with Pakistan, prompting Afghanistan to diversify its trade routes, including via the Chabahar Port.
The Minister also toured the India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2025 and interacted with Afghan traders to discuss market expansion and access.
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