Britain’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Richard Lindsay has said the United Kingdom plans to gradually shift part of its engagement with Afghanistan from humanitarian assistance toward economic cooperation.
Lindsay made the remarks during an online meeting with Afghanistan’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Nooruddin Azizi. The two sides discussed economic relations, trade facilitation and continued engagement with the international community.
According to the Afghan commerce ministry, Azizi outlined government economic measures and called for constructive international engagement based on mutual respect. Lindsay described opportunities under British programmes aimed at expanding trade with developing countries, including trade facilitation and possible tariff reductions.
Both sides supported continued dialogue on economic cooperation. The discussion did not replace humanitarian engagement, but it placed greater emphasis on trade and commercial links as part of future relations between Britain and Afghanistan.