Guess what? In a shocking revelation, Taliban announced that it has set up companies in Russia, Iran and Pakistan in the sectors of mining, electricity and infrastructure, making sure that the group ruling Afghanistan has back up investment.
Go deeper:
- The Taliban’s acting commerce minister Nooruddin Azizi said that the consortium of companies included 14 Afghan businessmen and his ministry had signed a memorandum of understanding with the foreign companies who would send delegates to Kabul to look into projects worth up to $1 billion.
- Azizi said the administration was focused on launching several long-term business plans including the consortium and special economic zones, and that it was working on ensuring security.
- “The Taliban will ensure security and will support the private sector in the security field,” he said.
- Apart from these companies and the Taliban minister stated that they are also looking at building a second tunnel through the Salang pass that connects Afghanistan’s north to the rest of the country.
- He also spoke about a project in Panjshir which would divert water from the province to the capital of Kabul.
- The Taliban also plans to re-build the main highway connecting Kabul to western Herat province.
- The minister said the Taliban administration was planning to focus on building special economic zones it hoped would attract foreign investment.
- Shipments of oil, gas and wheat under a major deal with Russia last year had begun arriving in Afghanistan by road and rail through Central Asia, he said, after the payments were made via banking channels despite sanctions that have limited many international payments.
Zoom out: Ever since the Taliban has taken over Afghanistan, the economic has been in a downward spiral with international community cutting off most development funding and enforcing sanctions on the banking sector.
- A series of attacks waged by the Islamic State against foreign targets has also worried some investors.
- Earlier, the Office of the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister had announced that according to the decision of the economic commission of the group, military bases left by foreign forces would gradually become special economic zones.
