The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) spokesman says practical work on the Afghanistan section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project has started.

Zabihullah Mujahid told Ariana News that technical equipment needed to implement the project was transferred to the border area between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan and that practical work has started.

Mujahid added that a large number of people are working in different sections of this project and its first phase will be completed in the next two years.

According to Mujahid, practical work on the CASA-1000 project and other projects will also start soon.

The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate said that Afghanistan will slowly strengthen and good job opportunities will be provided for the country's citizens.

Economic experts also believe that this project will play a vital role in the growth of the region's economy.

According to TAPI project officials, once completed, 12,000 people in Afghanistan will have job opportunities, and Afghanistan's annual income from this project will be close to one billion dollars.

The TAPI pipeline is 1,821 kilometers long and has an annual transport capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas, making it one of the largest regional infrastructure projects.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday demanded that BRICS member countries commit to not creating a new currency or supporting another currency that would replace the United States dollar or face 100% tariffs, Reuters reported.

"We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

"They can go find another 'sucker'. There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America."

The BRICS countries - which now include Egypt, Iran, and UAE as well - discussed boosting non-dollar transactions and strengthening local currencies at a summit held in Russia's Kazan in October, read the report.

A joint declaration for the "strengthening of correspondent banking networks within BRICS and enabling settlements in local currencies in line with BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative" was secured at the summit in October.

However, Russia's President Vladimir Putin indicated at the summit's end that no alternatives have been made so far to compete with the Belgium-based SWIFT financial messaging system.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the economic deputy prime minister, on Sunday inaugurated a blanket factory in Pul-e-Charkhi industrial area in Kabul city.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Baradar said that with the provision of overall security in the country and the reduction of corruption, a favorable environment for medium and small investments has been created.

He added that the Islamic Emirate continues to support domestic industries by implementing effective import substitution policies, which plays an important role in strengthening the country's national economy.

Baradar stated that in order to support domestic industries, heavy-duty machines worth 100 million afghanis ($1.4 million) were purchased for the newly established blanket factory based on the Islamic Murabaha Islamic financing structure.

Murabaha is a sales contract where the buyer and seller agree on the markup or "cost-plus" price for the item being sold.

Baradar also mentioned that the Islamic Emirate seeks to reduce dependence on foreign imports by increasing the level of investment.

He called businessmen and investors to invest inside Afghanistan for the economic growth of the country.

According to Baradar’s office, the newly established blanket factory uses domestically sourced raw materials including wool and cotton, which will help increase job opportunities in addition to strengthening the livestock and agriculture sector.

About 930 million afghanis has been invested in the factory and it currently has the capacity to produce 1,000 blankets per day.

The factory has employed about 900 people.