Page 10 - AsianOil Week 08 2023

AsianOil POLICY AsianOil

Taliban teams up with Russian,

Iranian and Pakistani firms

AFGHANISTAN AFGHANISTAN'S Taliban-led administra- plans including those of the consortium and spe-
tion has formed a consortium of companies, cial economic zones, centred on former foreign
The consortium has including some from Russia, Iran and Pakistan, military bases that he hoped would attract for-
signed a memorandum to establish an investment plan concentrated on eign investment.
of understanding with power, mining and infrastructure, according to "Lots of discussions on security have taken
the foreign companies its acting commerce minister Nooruddin Azizi. place in cabinet meetings also, commissions
who are to send Azizi told Reuters on February 23 that the have been established and ... the hiding places [of
delegates to Kabul to consortium has signed a memorandum of militants] have been destroyed," he was quoted
assess projects worth understanding with the foreign companies who as saying, adding: "The Islamic Emirate [run by
up to $1bn. are to send delegates to Kabul to assess projects the Taliban government] will ensure security
worth up to $1bn. and will support the private sector in the secu-
The consortium includes 14 Afghan busi- rity field."
nessmen and the Afghan commerce ministry. Mining and power projects, a possible pro-
Afghanistan has remained stuck on the edge ject to construct a second tunnel through the
of an economic and humanitarian catastrophe Salang pass that connects Afghanistan's north to
since the US and other foreign powers with- the rest of the country, a project to divert water
drew from the country in August 2021 and from northern Panjshir province to Kabul and
the Taliban militant fundamentalists took the re-building of the main highway connect-
over. International development funding to ing Kabul to western Herat province were on
Afghanistan has been cut and sanctions have the consortium’s agenda, Azizi was reported as
been applied to its banking sector. Investors saying.
are also worried that the Taliban administra- The minister also told the news agency that
tion, which has so far won no recognition from Russian oil, gas and wheat shipments had begun
other countries, could lose control of parts of arriving in Afghanistan by road and rail via Cen-
Afghanistan to various terrorist groups that are tral Asia, with payments conducted through
opposed to it. banking channels despite sanctions that have
Azizi told Reuters that the administration was limited many international payments related to
intent on launching several long-term business the Taliban. ™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 08 24•February•2023