Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Alhaj Nooruddin Azizi, has arrived in New Delhi for an official visit focused on enhancing trade and investment relations between the two nations. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs extended a warm welcome, with spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasizing on social media that advancing bilateral economic ties remains the central objective of the engagement.

During his stay, Minister Azizi is scheduled to hold meetings with key Indian officials responsible for commerce and industry. This marks one of the most significant diplomatic exchanges from the Taliban-led administration to India since Kabul’s fall in August 2021, highlighting New Delhi’s measured approach to maintaining regional connections.

The current visit builds upon the foundation laid by Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi’s six-day trip to India in October 2025, which represented the highest-level dialogue between the two countries since the Taliban’s return to power. That earlier meeting resulted in an agreement to form a joint trade committee to boost economic collaboration.

As reported by ANI, Foreign Minister Muttaqi previously stated, “Both sides agreed to create a trade committee… Due to opportunities opened in Afghanistan in terms of investment and activities in minerals and energy, we invited the Indian side to explore work in these areas,” underscoring the mutual interest in developing Afghanistan’s natural resource sectors.