China, Afghanistan sign oil extraction deal |

The interim Afghan government has signed a deal with a Chinese company to extract oil in the country's northern Amu Darya river basin. The contract with China's Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Company (CAPEIC) was signed in Kabul on Thursday in the presence of Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu, and Economic Deputy Prime Minister of the Afghan Interim Government Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. It is the first major international energy extraction deal the Taliban administration has signed with a foreign company since it took power in 2021. “I, as the Economic Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, pledge to cooperate with the contracting company. All government institutions and organizations will fully assist the contracting company,“ Baradar told the gathering at the contract signing ceremony. “Oil will now be extracted from the holy soil of Afghanistan. This area of land which spans approximately 4,500 square kilometers has been verified to contain oil