The Ministry of Finance says an agreement has been signed between the ministry, Afghan Post and the Ministry of Transport and Aviation to install a GPS in all cargo vehicles entering the country.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday in Kabul, finance ministry officials said this move aims to encourage investment and ensure the safe passage of all cargo vehicles into and through the country.

“By installing this device (GPS), ease is created in transit shipments and trust is created in the external transit sector,” said Dost Mohammad Mukhlis, deputy finance minister.

“This GPS is installed in cargo transit vehicles. GPS is installed in every truck that enters our country, and when it leaves Afghanistan, the GPS is removed,” said Habiburrahman Taliha, head of procurement of the Ministry of Transport and Aviation.

Ahmad Jan Bilal, head of the leadership board of state-owned companies also said that the Afghan Post company has created a new six-digit code that has been approved by the International Postal Union and will be used in national and international postal services.

Afghan Post is trying to establish 4,105 postal service centers in the country so that its services become national.

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, political deputy prime minister, says the Islamic Emirate is trying to strengthen and develop relations between Afghanistan and countries in the region and strengthen economic and commercial cooperation.

Speaking at an event in Kabul’s Serena Hotel, Abdul Kabir emphasized the need for expansion of trade and regional transit and asked the neighboring countries to remove obstacles currently faced by Afghan traders.

“We call on all countries to remove obstacles and problems for Afghan traders and investors. Creating problems, blocking roads and increasing taxes on Afghan businessmen will damage the economic relations and cooperation between Afghanistan and neighboring countries,” said Kabir.

He added that the IEA is looking for alternative business ways to expand its economic relations with the region.

Nooruddin Azizi, the acting minister of industry and commerce, also addressed the event and said that the IEA provides comprehensive support to traders and has held useful discussions with the Iranian side for the activation of Chabahar Port.

A number of Iranian traders and officials have promised to cooperate with Afghanistan and provide facilities at Chabahar Port.

Officials of the chambers of industry and commerce of Iran, Pakistan, Japan, Turkey and China also participated in this conference.

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, met with Song Wen Bing, President of the Mes Aynak Copper Contracting Company, this week and emphasized that once copper starts being extracted, the country’s mining revenue will be boosted.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, Song reiterated the company’s commitment to ensuring the timely initiation of extraction activities in line with the agreed schedule and operational plan.

Song meanwhile stated that more than $5 billion will be invested in the first phase of the project, with initial mining operations expected to start once the road to the site has been constructed.

He said the necessary machinery is scheduled to be imported next year.

Song also noted that the project will create jobs for 3,000 Afghans and that a group of Afghans will be sent for vocational training in China.

He also said that the surrounding historical sites and changes in the mining plan have contributed to delays in the project.

The Aynak copper mine contains millions of tons of copper and is believed to have the second largest copper reserve in the world.

The contract for the Aynak copper mine was signed in 1999 with the Chinese company MCC for 30 years, but due to security issues and prolonged excavations of ancient relics in the area, the extraction of copper was delayed.

A critical road to the mine has also been a challenge, but construction work on this recently got underway.