Russia is set to commence oil extraction operations in Afghanistan after signing a series of agreements with the Taliban government, officials from both sides have confirmed.
Rustam Khabibulin, head of Russia’s Trade Centre in Afghanistan, announced that the Russian company Inteco has conducted geological explorations in the country and will soon initiate drilling to extract oil. Speaking to Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti, Khabibulin noted that the construction of an oil refinery is also planned, although no specific timeline was provided.
Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, told RIA Novosti on Saturday, 18 May, that a formal contract for oil extraction had been signed with Inteco Group. The agreement was finalised on the sidelines of the Russia–Islamic World Forum in Kazan.
On Friday, the Taliban confirmed that a total of five agreements spanning multiple sectors were signed with Russia. According to an official statement, the memorandums of understanding were signed in the presence of Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and Alexey Overchuk, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, during the 16th Kazan Economic Forum.
The agreements cover cooperation in the transport sector, the expansion of trade relations, and collaboration between private companies on oil and gas extraction.
Baradar led a high-level Taliban delegation to Tatarstan to participate in the Kazan Economic Forum on Wednesday, 14 May. Upon returning to Afghanistan, Baradar described his four-day visit to Kazan as “full of achievements.”
In a significant diplomatic development, Russia has recently suspended its classification of the Taliban as a terrorist organisation and announced its acceptance of the Taliban’s ambassador in Moscow. Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan has confirmed that the Taliban has nominated an ambassador, though the individual’s identity has not yet been disclosed.
