The Islamic Emirate has signed a contract for the exploration and extraction of natural gas in the Totimaidan gas field in northern Afghanistan with a company from Uzbekistan, the ministry of mines and petroleum confirmed.

The ten-year contract includes an investment of about $1 billion and was signed on Thursday by Afghanistan's deputy prime minister for economic affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund and a representative of the Uzbek company.

According to the agreement, the company will invest $100 million in the first year and the balance of $900 million over the following nine years.

In the first two years, extracted gas will be used to generate 100 megawatts of gas-powered electricity.

The gas reserves of the Totimaidan gas field in Jawzjan province cover an area of approximately 7,000 square kilometers.

Once extraction begins, it will significantly boost the country's gas needs and create both direct and indirect employment opportunities for thousands of citizens.

Pakistan’s Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has called on Islamabad to take steps to reopen the key Afghanistan-Pakistan Highway for trade and transportation.

In a statement issued this week, SCCI President Fazal Moqeem said trade has been brought to a halt due to the closure of Afghanistan-Pakistan trade routes over the past few months. 

He said the mutual trade volume and transit trade had dropped to an alarming level owing to the closure of the trade route. As a result, trade has shifted from Pakistan to Iran and Central Asian Republics.

The SCCI chief feared bilateral trade would grind to a halt completely if Islamabad fails to resolve the issue urgently. 

“This will not only be detrimental to the national economy but also trigger unemployment owing to the closure of business and trade,” said Muqeem.

Meanwhile, Zahidullah Shinwari, a businessman, stated that the bilateral trade volume level had decreased substantially, and that traders on both sides have incurred huge financial losses. 

Shinwari said local people and travellers also faced enormous hardships due to the blockaded highway. He called on Islamabad to urgently resolve the problem. 

Shinwari called for a solution to be found to the issue with mutual consensus and negotiation.

The ongoing trade challenges, including route closures, rising customs tariffs, and what Afghanistan sees as Pakistan’s disregard for established trade agreements, have had a significant impact on Afghan exports. 

For Afghanistan, Pakistan remains one of the most important trading partners. The two countries share long-standing economic ties, with Afghanistan relying heavily on Pakistan as a market for its agricultural products, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and dry fruits.

The reduction in Afghan exports comes at a critical time when the country’s economy is in dire need of stability and growth. The disruption of trade routes and the imposition of tariffs further complicate efforts to strengthen Afghanistan’s trade sector and promote economic recovery.

The export of petrol from Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan in the first seven months of this year has increased substantially compared to the same period last year. 

According to Kyrgyzstan’s Statistics Department, Bishkek exported more than 700,000 liters of petrol worth $8.9 million to Afghanistan between January and July this year. 

According to Aki Press, Kyrgyzstan exported just over 19 thousand liters of petrol to Afghanistan in the same period last year.

The average price per liter of petrol exported from Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan is $0.05. 

Afghanistan imported 84% of Kyrgyzstan’s total petrol exports.