Acting Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Attaullah Omari, on Tuesday met with a delegation and representatives from the Chinese private sector in Kabul and they discussed expanding cooperation, investment in agriculture, livestock, and irrigation, as well as sharing China’s experiences with Afghanistan.

In a statement, the agriculture ministry said that the Chinese delegation emphasized the Beijing private sector’s interest in investing in Afghanistan’s agriculture and livestock sectors.

The Chinese delegation also expressed readiness to begin practical projects once certain facilities such as land leasing are arranged, the statement read.

The Chinese delegation also met with Nooruddin Azizi, the acting Minister of Industry and Commerce.

During this meeting, Azizi stated that they would provide all necessary facilities for foreign investors.

Over the past three years, most Chinese companies have shown interest in investing in Afghanistan’s mining sector. However, this marks the first time that Chinese investors are seeking to invest in the country’s agriculture sector.

Afghanistan will showcase goods, made in the country, at the KhazanForum in Russia next month, the Russian Economic Development Ministry’s department director Pavel Kalmychek said.

“The government of Tatarstan agreed to provide a platform for an exposition of goods from Afghanistan, there will be an exposition. I am confident that it will generate a certain interest, especially in the light of the recent decisions on lifting the ban on the Taliban (Islamic Emirate),” TASS quoted him as saying.

This comes after Russia’s Supreme Court last week scratched the Islamic Emirate from its list of banned organizations.

Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan, confirmed recently that a Russian-Afghan business forum will be held on the sidelines of the KazanForum.

He said Russia’s delegation would be led by Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, while Afghanistan would be represented at a high government and business level, TASS reported.

The 16th International Economic Forum ‘Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum’ will take place on May 13-18 in Kazan.

The main theme for this year has been defined as ‘Digitalization: New Reality and Additional Opportunities for Expanding Cooperation’.

An Afghan-American attorney, Mary Kabir-Seraj Bischoping, has been named deputy assistant secretary of state for Afghanistan and will oversee Washington’s foreign policy on Afghanistan under the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the US State Department.

Previously, US engagement on Afghanistan was led by Thomas West, former Special Representative for Afghanistan, and Rina Amiri, who served as Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights.

Bischoping, 33, is a descendant of the Barakzai royal dynasty, which ruled Afghanistan from 1823 to 1978 and is the great-granddaughter of King Amanullah Khan and Queen Soraya Tarzi. Her grandmother was Latifa Kabir Seraj, one of Afghanistan’s first female journalists.

Bischoping, is her married name, which comes from her German-American husband. She was born and raised in California.

According to a biography released by the University of Virginia, Bischoping’s family fled Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion in 1979. Her parents completed their education in Europe before settling in Southern California.

Bischoping earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2016 and later received her Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Virginia School of Law. She is fluent in English, Persian and German.

Following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Bischoping joined the Office of the Legal Adviser at the State Department. In 2023, she was appointed Senior Counsel to the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she led Republican-led oversight investigations into the Afghanistan withdrawal and advised on regional strategy.

Prior to her Congressional role, Bischoping served as a legal adviser at the State Department, clerked for Judge Kent A. Jordan on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and worked at major law firms including Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York.

Her appointment to this high-level diplomatic post reflects a combination of legal expertise, policy experience, and a personal understanding of Afghanistan’s complex history—positioning her to play a key role in shaping future U.S. engagement with the region.