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China is seeking to invest in the gas and oil sectors in Afghanistan, according to a local media report.
The Taliban-led government has provided essential facilities for the investors, TOLOnews, an Afghan news channel, reported, citing Ministry of Mines and Petroleum spokesman Homyaoon Afghan.
Afghanistan is rich in gas and oil and extraction of gas and oil is expected in some areas in the near future, he added.
Earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that China has invested and signed investment contracts worth $2 billion in Afghanistan, TOLOnews said.
Last month, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said a Chinese company Gochin had expressed interest in investing $10 billion in the country’s lithium deposits.
In addition, China and Pakistan also agreed to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) of the Belt and Road Initiative to Afghanistan.
In January 2023, the ministry signed a 25-year contract with China’s Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co. to extract oil from the Amu Darya basin in Afghanistan’s north.
(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)
