KAZAN, May 16. /TASS/. The topic of rare earth metals was raised during the dialogue between Russia and Afghanistan, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk told reporters.
"During the [Russian-Afghan] forum, they mentioned rare earth metal," he said.
Overchuk drew attention to the fact that "Russia has all the necessary competencies to conduct geological exploration."
"Moreover, back in the days of the Soviet Union, we studied the territory of Afghanistan. Of course, some materials need to be updated, but we are also discussing it," he added.
Today, the first Russian-Afghan business forum was held at the 16th International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum", where the discussion focused on possible areas of cooperation between the two countries, in particular, geological exploration and the extractive industry.
At the business forum, "a lot was said about the potential for developing trade between the two countries," the Deputy Prime Minister stated.
He noted that "Afghanistan is interested in bringing its agricultural products, dried fruits and nuts to the Russian market."
According to him, in this regard, "issues of sanitary control and customs control arise."
"We will help Afghan businesses study our requirements so that they can freely enter our large market," Overchuk assured, adding that "Afghanistan is very interested in it."
The 16th International Economic Forum "Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum" is underway from May 13 to 18 in Kazan. The main theme of the Forum in 2025 is ‘Digitalization: New Reality and Additional Opportunities for Expanding Cooperation’. Representatives of more than 100 countries have confirmed their participation in the forum. TASS is the general information partner of the event.