Taliban Seeks Discounted Oil & Gas From Iran During Kabul Talks

During a meeting with Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s acting minister of commerce, Azizi called on Iran to offer special discounts on oil and gas supplies to Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, Mousavi also met Abdul Rahman Qanit, the Taliban’s deputy minister of mines.

In a statement, the Taliban Ministry of Commerce said the Iranian official expressed Tehran’s readiness to expand exports of petroleum products and liquefied gas to Afghanistan. He also said Iran was prepared to cooperate in strengthening the technical capacity of staff working in Afghan refineries.

Azizi, in turn, stressed the importance of maintaining the quality of Iranian petroleum products exported to Afghanistan and urged Tehran to reduce prices and provide special concessions for Afghan buyers. He also called for greater facilitation of transit routes for petroleum products and liquefied gas passing through Iran to Afghanistan.

Qanit said the Taliban administration was interested in improving the technical capacity of refinery workers and upgrading the quality of domestic refineries.

Mining investment

According to Taliban officials, Mousavi said Iranian private companies and investors are interested in investing in the exploration, extraction and processing of Afghanistan’s mineral resources.

He also said Iran was ready to train Afghan engineers in oil and gas, refining and solid-minerals industries.

Qanit said the Taliban would provide additional facilities to attract investment from Iranian companies.

Iran remains one of Afghanistan’s main fuel suppliers. Although Afghanistan has significant reserves of copper, iron, lithium and precious stones, a lack of infrastructure, international sanctions and the absence of formal recognition of the Taliban have made attracting foreign investment difficult.