OIL EXTRACTION DEAL SIGNED BETWEEN AFGHANISTAN AND CHINA

Taliban seized the Power in Kabul in 2021...

A contract has been signed between Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration with a Chinese company to extract oil from the Amu Darya basin and develop an oil reserve in the northern country’s Sar-e Pul province.

On Thursday the contract has been signed by acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar and an official of Xinjang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co (CAPEIC) in a ceremony held in capital Kabul.

Since Taliban has taken the power in 2021, it was the first major public commodities extraction deal that the administration has signed with a foreign company.

Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu has also witnessed the signing ceremony.

Delawar said, under the deal the Chinese company will be extracting oil from collectively in northern Sar-e Pul, Jawzjan, and Faryab provinces an area covering 4,500 square kilometres (1,737 square miles)

“Over 3,000 local people will get jobs in this project,” he added.

The Chinese envoy called the deal important for the economic growth of the country and take a positive step to build close relations between Kabul and Beijing.

The Chinese envoy called the deal is important for the economic growth of the war-torn country and a positive step has taken to build close relations between Kabul and Beijing.

“The Amu Darya oil contract is an important project between China and Afghanistan,” Wang Yu said.