Nooruddin Azizi, acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with technical teams from Iran’s Veera Gas Sepehr Sokht Company, and Emirati Oil and Gas Company of Afghanistan, as well as officials from the Afghanistan National Standards Authority (ANSA) in a move to establish a refinery in the country.

In this meeting, the representative of Veera Gas Sepehr Sokht Company shared a plan to establish a refinery, over three stages.

The refinery would be established to process oil extracted in Afghanistan.

They also provided technical details on quantity, and quality of what the final product would be.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Afghanistan National Standards Authority (ANSA) and the State Oil and Gas Company have been entrusted by the Economic Commission to invest in the establishment of a refinery that meets global standards.

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The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum on Sunday sold 20,000 tons of crude oil for $10.5 million, said acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum Shahabuddin Delawar.

Speaking at a bidding ceremony, he said the oil was extracted from the Angut area of the Amu Darya oil field and was sold to a local company.

Delawar added that bidding for the extraction and exploration of 11 oil and gas blocks across an area of 23,000 square kilometers in Herat province will be held in the near future.

According to him, contracts will also be awarded for oil extraction in Katwaz area of Paktika Province.

Based on the rules of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the winning companies are obliged to process crude oil inside the country, as it would provide job opportunities to locals.

Meanwhile, Delawar said that they are committed to using professional companies in the mining sector.

A support fund for the private sector was officially launched on Thursday in the presence of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Nooruddin Azizi, acting Minister of Commerce in Industry, officials of various ministries and members of the private sector.

The private sector support fund has been established to achieve sustainable economic growth and development, reduce unemployment, create new job opportunities, trade balance, reduce obstacles and threats to private sector activities, and provide facilities in the trade and transit process.

Also, having a reliable financial source for implementing projects and programs related to the private sector, financing programs related to the National Ports Committee, building the required facilities in ports and crossings, creating laboratories and purchasing equipment for testing the quality of imported and exported goods, are among the main aims of this initiative.

Baradar said at the event that with this system, the level of unemployment will decrease and work opportunities will be provided for citizens.

He asked members of the private sector to speed up their “activities and perform them with better quality”.

Azizi in turn said: “The projects that are prioritized through the leadership committee of the fund and in consultation with the private sector will surely increase trade, reduce prices for consumers, and accelerate imports and exports.”

He said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is committed to providing grounds for the development of the private sector.

The private sector support fund is meanwhile made up of leaders and technical committees.

The members of these committees consist of representatives of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, General Directorate of Affairs, Ministries of Commerce and Industry, Finance, Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Economy, Energy and Water, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Mines and Petroleum, and sectorial chambers.

The main duties of the committee are leading, approving or rejecting proposed projects, determining the contribution amount for the fund, prioritizing the projects, monitoring the activities of the technical committee, monitoring the implementation of the projects, and submitting a report on the expenses of the projects to the highest authority.

This fund is financed through the help, assistance and donations of people and organizations at a national and international level and a small amount on taxes on imported and exported goods will go towards the fund.