Business
TAPI Project Inaugurated in Herat Province
Work officially began on the Afghanistan section of the TAPI project in presence of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Turkmen President, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs and Pakistani Prime Minister in Herat province.
The first part of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project inauguration took place in Turkmenistan followed by a ceremony in Afghanistan Herat province.
Addressing the ceremony, President Ghani said the pipeline would “unite the countries” in quotes translated into Russian for reporters at the ceremony.
“There were pessimistic voices, but now we are witnessing the construction of the TAPI gas pipeline,” said Ghani.
The 1,814-kilometer gas pipeline is expected to transport 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas a year, will pass through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.
At least 816 kilometers of the pipeline will pass through the territory of Afghanistan through Herat, Farah, Nimroz, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan.
The final destination of the pipeline will be the Indian town of Fazilka, near its border with Pakistan.
In the meantime, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov called diversification of gas deliveries an “important part of the politics” of the isolated Central Asian country.
Berdymukhamedov noted that construction of the section of pipeline going through Turkmenistan is being carried out according to the general plan.
On the occasion, Pakistani Prime Minister, Shahid Abbasi expressed confidence that TAPI would provide shared prosperity, unite people and provide socio-economic development and peace dividends in the region.
He said TAPI is critical for Pakistan’s energy needs, adding that it will provide 10 percent of the country’s total energy consumption.
This comes as Taliban group in a statement announced support for the TAPI project and expressed readiness to guarantee the pipeline’s security.
“We are ready to protect TAPI. It is good and important and vital for the economy of Afghanistan,” Taliban’s spokesman said.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said Thursday it has signed cooperation agreements with ten institutions to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, said: “In the implementation of projects, we must pay special attention to our activities and actions and try to make useful use of the projects according to the requirements and benefit the beneficiaries.”
These ten institutions are to present their projects, the total value of which is around over $1.1 million. The projects will be carried out in Kabul, Baghlan, Ghor, Herat, Logar, Nangarhar, Balkh, Badakhshan and Jawzjan provinces and provide direct jobs for about 1,000.
To date, the ministry has signed MoUs for 72 projects in total, collectively valued at about $53.6 million.
These agreements have been signed with domestic and foreign companies for the establishment of small and medium-sized businesses.
In accordance with the principles and laws of the Islamic Emirate and prioritizing the implementation of projects for immigrants and returnees and internally displaced people, the ministry said 635,865 people will benefit through jobs directly and over 4.3 million will benefit indirectly in 25 provinces once these projects are implemented.
The National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) confirmed Tuesday that in the last month of solar year 1402, (March 2024) Afghanistan’s exports totaled $141.1 million and imports totaled $789.6 million.
This was down from $174 million for exports in the same period in 1401. However, imports increased by $99.2 million in 1402, up from $690.4 million.
Most exports in the last month of 1402 went to Pakistan, India and the United Arab Emirates, while in the last month of 1401 exports went to Pakistan, India and China.
The Ministry of Interior said the governor of Herat province Islam Jar met with Alim Khan Yasin Gildaye, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Afghanistan, to discuss various issues around trade.
According to the ministry, the two sides discussed the expansion of trade facilities, increasing the volume of trade exchanges between traders of the two countries, reducing customs tariffs, solving the challenges of traders and issuing visas to them.
The Afghanistan-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce has been opened in Herat in order to facilitate and increase trade between the two countries.
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