Uzbekistan has struck a deal with Afghanistan to process the country’s crude oil, Uzbek media reported Tuesday.

According to reports, Afghanistan’s crude oil will be transported by rail from Hairatan land port to Uzbekistan’s Fergana refinery.

The first shipments have reportedly already been dispatched.

Sources told Uzbek media that 100,000 metric tons of crude oil would be processed under the deal.

Talks between the Islamic Emirate and Uzbekistan have been ongoing for months amid efforts by the IEA to become self-sufficient.

The IEA has been trying to kickstart production since 2022.

Last year, China's Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Co., or CAPEIC – based in China's western Xinjiang region - signed a major oil extraction contract with the Islamic Emirate, pledging to invest $540 million in crude oil production by 2026.

The Fergana refinery is the only one in Uzbekistan with the technical ability to process Afghan crude oil, sources said.

A U.S House report published by Republicans says nothing new on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday.

The report released on Monday contends that the Biden administration made its decision to evacuate noncombatants far too late and failed to communicate between departments in Washington and among officials in Afghanistan.

The report released on Monday contends that the Biden administration made its decision to evacuate noncombatants far too late and failed to communicate between departments in Washington and among officials in Afghanistan.

Following a nationwide ban on poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, farmers in Helmand and Kandahar provinces have turned to growing basil as an alternative crop.

Local officials in these provinces say basil has been planted on more than 2,000 hectares of land this year, and that 3,000 tons will be harvested.

In Kandahar over 1,000 hectares has been used for basil.

“The cultivation of basil in Kandahar has increased this year. Most of the farmers have started growing basil. The reason is abundant water and good rains,” said Muhammad Hanif Haqmal, the spokesman of the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock in Kandahar.

Basil cultivation has also increased in Helmand province. According to local officials, more than 1,400 acres of land has been used for basil, from which nearly 2,000 tons will be harvested.

Farmers, however, complain about the declining prices of basil. They say basil prices have decreased by 30 percent this year.

According to officials, last year the price of one kilogram of basil at markets was 500 afghanis, but this year one kilogram of basil sells for 280 afghanis to 300 afghanis.