Domestic and foreign investors are showing an increased interest in investing in the electricity-producing sector in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Energy and Water says.

According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Energy and Water, Matiullah Abid, keen interest has been shown by investors from Turkey, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and China.

Afghanistan currently produces only 20% of its energy needs, while 80% of its electricity is imported from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran at a cost of about $300 million a year.

Since regaining control of the country in August 2021, the Islamic Emirate has made it a priority to encourage domestic production of power.

Omar has met with potential investors on numerous occasions and has encouraged them to invest in the sector.

Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) this week announced it had signed a contract for the purchase of electricity from Uzbekistan for the year 2025.

This agreement was signed in Tashkent by DABS CEO Abdul Bari Omari.

Late last month, Tajikistan's national electric power company, Barqi Tojik, and DABS signed a similar agreement for 2025.

According to Barqi Tojik's press secretary, Kurbon Ahmadzoda, the agreement is expected to be extended annually until 2028.

There are many differences between Syria and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Syria's de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has said.

In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, Sharaa denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.

Sharaa said the countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset.

“Afghanistan is a tribal community. Syria is completely different. The people just don’t think in the same way. The Syrian government and the ruling system will be in line with Syria’s history and culture,” he said.

He said he believed in education for women.

“When it comes to women’s education, of course. We have had universities in Idlib for more than eight years. I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60 percent.

"We've had universities in Idlib for more than eight years," Sharaa said, referring to Syria's north-western province that has been held by rebels since 2011.

"I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%."

Asked whether the consumption of alcohol would be allowed, Sharaa said: "There are many things I just don't have the right to talk about because they are legal issues."

He added that there would be a "Syrian committee of legal experts to write a constitution. They will decide. And any ruler or president will have to follow the law".

The Islamic Emirate has not yet commented on Ahmad al-Sharaa’s remarks on Afghanistan.

The remarks come as girls above the sixth grade have been denied the right to education for more than three years and universities are also closed to women.

Reports suggest that the leadership of the Islamic Emirate has also recently decided to close medical institutes to girls.

Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, has urged Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria to fulfill its promises of forming an inclusive government and learn from the global isolation faced by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Wednesday, Blinken called for the establishment of a “non-sectarian” government in Syria that protects minorities and addresses security concerns.

“The Taliban (IEA) presented a more moderate face during their takeover of Afghanistan - or at least tried to - but their true nature later became evident,” he said.

As a result, the IEA remains globally isolated due to their failure to deliver on their commitments, he added.

He went on to state: “If you are an emerging group in Syria and wish to avoid such isolation, you must take specific actions to advance the country.”

Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the leader of Syria’s HTS, has vowed that Syria will not follow the path of Afghanistan under the IEA.

Jolani has consistently advocated for protecting individual freedoms, ensuring women’s rights, and fostering a pluralistic society.

The Islamic Emirate, however, rejects Blinken's statements and says that Afghanistan is not currently isolated from the world and that they have relations with other countries.

The IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated that the Islamic Emirate government has fulfilled all its commitments made in Doha.

Meanwhile, a number of Afghan experts believe that the United States is still using political and economic pressure against the Islamic Emirate to achieve its political goals.