A team of experts will start assessing the environmental and social impact of an operational Mes Aynak copper mine in Logar province, Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency announced on Monday.

Officials said that discussions have been held in this regard with the contracted company and a team of domestic experts is going to carry out assessments within three months.

"This project has different dimensions. One of them is related to the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, which should proceed according to their principles. Second, there are antiquities in the area and the Ministry of Information and Culture is working according to its principles over vulnerability. Our principle is that [the mining company] MCC must comply with environmental standards,” said Zain al-Abidin Abid, the technical deputy chief of the National Environmental Protection Agency.

Ministry of Mines and Petroleum officials stated that they will assess the environmental effects in cultural and economic fields.

"At each stage, it is necessary to have separate plans in accordance with the norms in the environmental protection area. Another issue is that for the reconstruction in the mining area, which is a very important step, global effective standards should be included in the environmental and social impact assessment report,” said Hamidullah Habibi, head of Aynak copper mining project department at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.

Officials of the contracted company emphasized that they are ready to cooperate with officials on the environmental assessment.

Mes Aynak copper deposit is located 40 km southeast of Kabul in Logar province. It is the world's second largest copper deposit.

Qatar’s special envoy for foreign affairs met with Germany's ambassador to Doha and other high-ranking German diplomats on Sunday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. 

Faisal bin Abdullah Al Hanzab, Special Envoy of Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with Lothar Freischlader, Ambassador of Germany to Qatar; Rolf Dieter Reinhard, Head of the German Liaison Office for Afghanistan in Doha and Acting Chargé d'Affaires of the German Embassy in Afghanistan.

According to Qatar’s foreign ministry, the diplomats reviewed the latest developments in Afghanistan, with particular focus on security, humanitarian, economic, and political issues.

Qatar, which has hosted the political office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan for many years, has been instrumental in helping Afghanistan in the political, educational and medical fields, as well as in rebuilding and reactivating Kabul International Airport following the withdrawal of US troops.

Just last week, Qatar called on the international community to not  ignore the improved security situation in Afghanistan and other positive realities.

At a meeting with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, Qatar’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Mutlaq bin Majed Al Qahtani, stressed the need to maintain good international relations with Afghanistan.

The Netherlands is deciding whether it can persuade Uzbekistan to accept Afghan migrants who have had their asylum applications rejected. 

Germany recently agreed with Uzbekistan that it could send rejected Afghan asylum seekers to the neighboring country.

“At the moment, the Cabinet is examining the extent to which agreements can be made with Uzbekistan,” said Asylum Minister Marjolein Faber on Wednesday. 

Faber did not elaborate nor would she say when more details would be available. 

These are "sometimes very early discussions, only explorations”, and these do not benefit from openness, Faber said.

Asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies, especially criminals, are often not welcome in their countries of origin, the Netherlands and other European countries have been looking for ways to send them back for years. 

Germany meanwhile hopes to send them back via Uzbekistan. The two countries agreed on this last month, in return for the admission of Uzbek migrant workers and development aid, among other things.