The Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum Hedayatullah Badri met with Murad Amanov, the executive director of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), to discuss the need to speed up practical work on the project.

Badri stated this applied to the construction of camps, creation of jobs for local residents, gas distribution and the acquisition of private land in Herat city.

He also assured Amanov of the ministry’s full cooperation with the process of accelerating the TAPI gas pipeline project.

“In this meeting, TAPI project and various issues were discussed,” said Homayoun Afghan, a spokesman for the ministry.

Experts have meanwhile said that the TAPI project will have a significant effect on Afghanistan’s economy and with the construction of this pipeline, new sources of income will be provided through the export of oil and gas.

They said the proceeds earned from TAPI once completed can be invested in major infrastructure projects.

Once complete, the TAPI project will add approximately US$400 million to Afghanistan’s revenue annually, and it will create thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities for Afghans.

Afghanistan will get 500 million cubic meters of gas in the first decade, that will increase to 1 billion cubic meters in the second decade and 1.5 billion cubic meters in the 3rd decade.

Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) said in a statement Tuesday it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Danish Refugee Council on lessening the effects of war on the people.

Nooruddin Turabi, head of ANDMA, and the deputy country director of the DRC Zia Mayar, signed the MoU, worth $471,088, after a meeting between the two parties.

Turabi said at the meeting that all government institutions and departments should cooperate in reducing the risks of natural and unnatural disasters and that all institutions should continue their assistance to reduce the poverty level in Afghanistan.

Mayar said that his organization has been working with migrants in Afghanistan and other countries for about 25 years.

According to him, the DRC also helps Afghans affected by natural disasters and incidents in war-affected areas; as well as with mine clearing operations and emergency situations.

This MoU includes projects such as clearing of mines and other unexploded ordnance; cash assistance; provision of psychotherapy services; support for mine and unexploded ordnance victims, and capacity building of technical department employees of demining institutions in Qala Muslim village and Surobi district of Kabul province.

The political commission led by Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, Deputy Political Prime Minister, has discussed the implementation of large regional projects, the security of border areas, the improvement of the social situation, and the strengthening of relations with a number of countries.

On Tuesday, Arg said that Kabir stated that the Islamic Emirate is ready to ensure the security of the country's borders.

“In this meeting, the political and security situation of Afghanistan and the region was discussed,” said Hamdullah Fitrat, Deputy Spokesman of the IEA.

“The political commission emphasized in this meeting that Afghanistan is ready to secure its borders and (land) ports and will not allow anyone to harm other countries from Afghanistan,” Fitrat added.

Meanwhile, politicians have said that strengthening Afghanistan's relations with the world depends on respecting human rights, opening the gates of schools and universities to girls, and removing restrictions on women.

The members of the political commission also expressed their concern over the escalation of the crisis in the Middle East and supported the call for the rights of the Palestinian people.