Taliban Claims Azerbaijan Committed to Revitalising Lapis Lazuli Corridor

The Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan met with the Taliban's Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Termez to discuss enhancing trade relations between the two countries.

According to the Taliban, the Azerbaijani official expressed the country’s readiness to activate the Lapis Lazuli Corridor to boost trade relations with Afghanistan and the wider region.

In a statement from the Economic Affairs Office of the Taliban’s leadership, the meeting between Baradar and the Azerbaijani Prime Minister took place on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the "Termez International Trade Centre" in Uzbekistan.

The reactivation of the Lapis Lazuli Corridor was a key topic during the discussions between the Azerbaijani official and the Taliban representatives.

The Lapis Lazuli Corridor is a land route connecting Afghanistan to Turkmenistan through the Torghundi and Aqina ports, and onwards to the Turkmenbashi port in Turkmenistan. The Lapis Lazuli agreement was signed in 2018 by five countries, linking Afghanistan through Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to Turkey.

The statement also mentioned Azerbaijan's interest in increasing exports and imports with Afghanistan, as well as investing in the establishment of industrial factories in the country. Azerbaijan also expressed interest in Afghanistan's mining sector.