Afganistan, China to sign first agreement since Taliban control

Afghanistan’s Taliban government is to sign its first 25-year major energy extraction agreement with a foreign Chinese firm since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021.

The Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid says the oil extraction agreement would see Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Company (CAPEIC) drilling for oil in the countries’ north basin of Amu Darya basin,

To ensure the security of the Chinese nationals, Taliban officials added that on Thursday, security forces had targeted Islamic State group militants who attacked a hotel used by Chinese businessmen. “Eight IS militants were killed, and several more were arrested. December’s attack on the Longan Hotel in Kabul killed at least three people and 18 more injured, including five Chinese citizens,” said Taliban officials.

“The Amu Darya oil contract is an important project between China and Afghanistan,” China’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Wang Yu, told a news conference in the capital Kabul.

Also, a Chinese state-owned company is in talks over the operation of a copper mine in the country’s east. Afghanistan is estimated to be sitting on natural resources – including natural gas, copper, and rare piles of the earth – worth more than $1tn. However, much of those reserves remain untapped because of decades of turmoil in the country.

Beijing has not formally recognised Afghanistan’s Taliban administration. Still, it has significant interests in the country, which is at the centre of a region critical to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI, launched by Xi Jinping in 2013, provides financing for emerging countries to build infrastructure like ports, roads, and bridges.

BBC/S.O