The signing ceremony was held at the Government Information and Media Center in Kabul, in the presence of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Minister of Mines and Petroleum, and China’s ambassador to Kabul.

Deputy Prime Minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund said that in the past year, work has been accomplished to promote development in the country.

“Recently, several projects were approved by the Economic Commission, and with their undertaking, fundamental steps will be taken assuming the prosperity of the country and public welfare,” Baradar said.

He said the signing of Thursday’s contract was a crucial step towards the country reaching self-sufficiency. He called on the Chinese company to work in accordance with international standards and to provide local people with public benefits.

“We ask the company to continue the procedure according to international standards, also we ask them to provide for the interest of the people of Sar-e Pul,” he added.

Sheikh Shahabuddin Delawar, the Minister of Mines and Petroleum, said: “According to the order of the Supreme Leader and the guidance of the Prime Minister, today we will sign an oil extraction contract with a Chinese company.”

Delawar said oil will be extracted from an area covering 4,500 square kilometers across parts of Sar-e-Pul, Jawzjan and Faryab provinces.

He said that 3,000 people would get work opportunities through the contract signed with the China Petroleum Economics and Information Research Center (CPEIC).

According to the Minister, 200 tons of oil would be extracted initially in a day and the quantity would increase to 1,000 tons a day gradually.

China’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu meanwhile said: “This contract is important for the economic growth and self-sufficiency of Afghanistan and is a good illustration of alliance and interaction between the two countries.”

The Chinese company will invest $150 million a year in Afghanistan under the contract, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Zabihullah Mujahid.

Its investment would increase to $540 million in three years for the 25-year contract, he said.

Afghanistan is estimated to be sitting on untapped resources of more than $1 trillion, which has attracted the interest of some foreign investors through decades of unrest. (ILKHA)