Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says work on the TAPI Pipeline is accelerating as pipes and technical equipment continue arriving through Turkmenbashi Port.

According to the ministry, Afghan Minister of Mines and Petroleum Hedayatullah Badri visited the port during his trip to Turkmenistan to inspect the transportation process for pipeline materials and equipment destined for Afghanistan.

The ministry said construction work on the Herat section of the project is progressing steadily, with major developments reported in several phases of the pipeline route.

Officials stated that 63 kilometers of pipeline have already been installed inside Afghanistan, while preparations for an additional 125-kilometer stretch have been completed to allow further expansion work.

The ministry added that nearly 51 kilometers of pipes have so far been transported from abroad to project sites within Afghanistan.

According to officials, implementation of the project has gained momentum in recent months, with workers currently welding around 500 meters of pipeline each day.

The TAPI pipeline is regarded as one of the region’s largest energy infrastructure projects and is intended to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.

China has committed to purchasing at least $17 billion of U.S. agricultural ​products in 2026, 2027 and 2028, the White House ‌said in a fact sheet released on Sunday.

The commitment was made during meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last ​week, the White House said.

The $17 billion figure does not ​include the soybean purchase commitments China made in October ⁠2025, the White House said.

There has been a marked reduction ​in U.S. agricultural exports to China after last year’s rounds of ​tit-for-tat tariffs sharply curtailed trade, which fell 65.7% year-on-year to $8.4 billion in 2025, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

China has dramatically scaled back its ​reliance on U.S. farm goods since Trump’s first term, sourcing ​roughly 20% of its soybeans from the U.S. in 2024, the year before ‌he ⁠returned to office, down from 41% in 2016.

China will work with U.S. regulators to lift suspensions of U.S. beef facilities and resume imports of poultry from U.S. states determined to be ​free of avian ​influenza, the ⁠White House said.

Confirming earlier statements from the Chinese government, the White House also said on Sunday the ​world’s two largest economies would establish a U.S.-China ​Board of ⁠Trade and the U.S.-China Board of Investment.

The boards will resolve concerns over market access for agricultural products and expand trade “under a ⁠reciprocal ​tariff-reduction framework,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi ​said in a statement last week.

Officials at Da Afghanistan Bank (Central Bank) say the Afghanistan Institute of Banking and Finance represents an important step toward professionalizing the country’s banking sector and strengthening financial decision-making.

Hasibullah Noori, spokesperson for the central bank, said broad programs have been launched to expand Islamic banking services across Afghanistan, with several institutions already operating in the sector.

According to Noori, parts of the country’s banking activities have already been aligned with Islamic banking principles, while additional training programs are underway to strengthen the capacity of banking staff and support the further expansion of Islamic banking services.

Mustafa Safi, head of the Afghanistan Institute of Banking and Finance, which operates under the supervision of the central bank, said the institute has introduced extensive human resource training and capacity-building programs aimed at developing Islamic banking services in Afghanistan.

Economic analysts have welcomed the initiative, saying the gradual expansion of Islamic banking could improve transparency in the financial system and help increase public trust in banks.

Officials said more than 1,200 central bank employees have already benefited from the institute’s training programs, while additional courses are planned for students at public and private universities.

The Afghanistan Institute of Banking and Finance officially began operations in 1403 under the supervision of Da Afghanistan Bank.