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The Taliban government has signed a provisional deal with Russia for an annual supply of petrol, diesel and wheat to Afghanistan.
The ministry of industry and commerce said on Wednesday that the agreement included the annual purchase of one million tonnes of petrol, one million tonnes of diesel, half a million tonnes of cooking gas and two million tonnes of wheat.
Akhundzada Jawad, the spokesman of the ministry said the import process was expected to “start soon.”
The Taliban said they would pay Russia in roubles.
Its acting minister of industry and commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, who visited Russia last month, said that Moscow had offered the Taliban a discount on average global commodity prices. Moscow had not commented on the agreement yet. If confirmed, this would be the first major international trade deal for the Taliban since retaking power last year. With an estimated population of around 40 million, the war-torn nation that was hugely dependent on donations from the international community is suffering from an unprecedented increase in poverty.
The country remained isolated from the West due to the Taliban’s draconian policies against women, human rights issues, and their refusal to form a representative government.
Afghanistan is also disconnected from the global banking system. No country, including Russia, had recognised the hardline regime.
Meanwhile, construction work on the fourth pipeline of a mega power transmission project that transports natural gas from China’s western regions to the country’s eastern region began on Wednesday, covering 3340 km from Wuqia county to Zhongwei City in Ningxia Hui autonomous region.
With a total length of 3,340 Kilometers (KM), the pipeline runs from Wuqia Country in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Zhongwei City in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Zhang Wei, Board chairman, China Oil & Gas Piping Network Corporation, the construction company said that upon its completion, the pipeline would boost the mega power transmission project’s annual capacity up to 100 billion cubic meters.
According to him, the company is promoting the construction of oil and gas pipeline network infrastructure to ensure the energy security of the country.
