Jaishankar meets Taliban’s Industry and Commerce Minister Azizi

India on Thursday (November 20, 2025) reiterated support for the Afghan people and promised enhanced connectivity and trade between the two sides.

The Indian message was conveyed by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in a meeting with visiting Afghan Minister of Industry and Commerce Alhaj Nooruddin Azizi, who became the second Taliban Minister to be hosted at Hyderabad House in little over a month.

“Discussed ways to strengthen our trade, connectivity and people to people ties. Reiterated India’s support for the development and welfare of the people of Afghanistan,” Mr. Jaishankar said after meeting Mr. Azizi, who arrived here on Wednesday for a five-day visit. Mr. Azizi also met Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada, who said the “discussions reflected a shared commitment to strengthening bilateral trade and economic cooperation”.

Mr. Azizi’s visit is being keenly watched as it commenced days after the Taliban administration in Kabul urged Afghan traders to avoid trade with Pakistan and to stop using the Karachi port for commercial reasons. Mr. Azizi is leading a large Afghan trade delegation. He had his first meetings in the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).

Afghan Ministers used to visit the ITPO during the previous government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan that was led by President Hamid Karzai and subsequently by President Ashraf Ghani. Mr. Azizi became the first Afghan Minister to visit the ITPO since 2021, when the Taliban took charge of Kabul following the fall of the government of President Ghani.

Sources here said that the Afghanistan-India air freight corridor that was expanded during the visit of Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in October will be operationalised by Afghan civil aviation companies. However, there are lingering doubts about the disruptive role that Pakistan can play in preventing smooth functioning of the air freight corridors that aim to connect Amritsar, Delhi, and Mumbai with Kandahar and Kabul.