MOSCOW — A Russian energy firm has signed an agreement with Taliban to extract oil in Afghanistan. The deal was finalized between the Russian company Inteco Group and Taliban during the Russia–Islamic World Economic Forum in Kazan, according to reports in Russian state media.
The agreement was signed by Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s acting minister of industry and commerce, and representatives of Inteco Group. In remarks to RIA Novosti, a state-owned Russian news outlet, Azizi confirmed the deal and said it would expand economic cooperation between Moscow and Kabul.
“The cooperation agreement was signed at the Russia–Islamic World forum in Kazan,” Azizi told the outlet.
Rustam Khabibullin, head of the Russian Trade Center in Afghanistan, said the company had already conducted geological surveys in the country and was prepared to begin drilling operations. He added that the contract includes plans to build an oil refinery equipped with necessary infrastructure.
“This is the first agreement of its kind,” Khabibullin said, emphasizing the strategic importance of the deal.
In addition to the oil extraction agreement, the Taliban and Russian representatives signed five other memorandums of understanding during the forum, covering cooperation in transportation, aviation and commerce.
Neither Russian nor Taliban officials disclosed the financial terms of the contract or the projected scale of extraction and refining operations.
