The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has indicated an interest in buying gas & oil from Russia and also continuing work on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, which has been facing an uncertain future after the return of the Islamist militant group in Kabul last August.
At a time when sanctions from the Western nations have hit the Russian energy giants like Gazprom, Jamal Nasir Garwal, the Taliban-appointed charge d’affaires in Moscow, has reaffirmed Afghanistan’s ambition of developing the energy partnership with Russia.
Garwal said, “Yes, we are discussing in the sphere of business as well as finance. We are determined & very much want to develop economic ties with Russia so that there is some progress in ties. As for some specific areas, we are interested in purchasing fuel as well as gas, these are the most important areas at the moment, what our nation needs in the first place.”
The Afghan charge d’affaires stated the Taliban government depends on Russia to restore the infrastructure and build buildings, roads, and other necessary facilities because it had helped Afghanistan in the past.
The discussions, he said, are currently underway though the Ministries of Trade of Russia and Afghanistan as Kabul remains “determined” to sign specific agreements soon.
Garwal said, “We also want our dried fruits as well as other agricultural products to be delivered to Russia, we are interested in developing these direction. While we have not determined the specific details, but we are discussing the future. At the same time, we are not talking about some kind of barter.”