Russia has agreed to turn a long-standing debt payable by Afghanistan into a non-refundable aid, the Afghan finance officials said Thursday.
Finance Minister Eklil Ahmadi Hakimi welcomed and hailed Moscow’s commitment to strenghten and expand trade, economic and social relations between the two nations.
Mr. Hakimi further added that postive developments have been made to resolve the oustanding debts payable to Russia as Moscow has agreed to turn the outstanding payments into non-refundable grants.
He did not disclose further information regarding the exact amount of the debts the Afghan government is obliged to pay.
The Minister of Finance was speaking following the conclusion of the third join session between Kabul and Moscow which mainly focused on economic cooperation between the two nations.
He said the negotiations from the Afghanistan perspective mainly focused on resumption of activities by Russian companies in the country, mainly the housing industry, cosidering the expertise of the Russian companies that could play a vital role in improving the economy of the country.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Yuri Senturin, said Russia remains committed to Afghanistan’s development and called the joint session an important step in this regard.
