The first major economic contract Afghanistan concludes an agreement with Russia to import oil and wheat

In the Taliban's first major economic contract since their return to power, Afghanistan struck an agreement with Russia to supply millions of tons of oil products and wheat.

Afghanistan struck a deal with Russia to supply millions of tons of oil products and wheat, the first major economic contract for the Taliban since its return to power.

"The contract was signed last month, when the Minister of Industry and Trade visited Russia," the spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Afghanistan, Abdul Salam Jawad, told AFP on Wednesday. Without mentioning the details of the financial terms of the contract.

Under the agreement, Kabul will receive one million tons of gasoline, one million tons of diesel, 500,000 tons of liquefied gas and two million tons of wheat.

The Afghan economy ministry said in a statement that the cargo would arrive "in the coming weeks".

The Russian Tass news agency quoted the Russian President's Special Representative in Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, as confirming Wednesday that "preliminary agreements were signed."

Kabulov explained that the two parties (Russia and Afghanistan) now have to agree on "the volume and list of products."

The economic crisis Afghanistan is already experiencing is exacerbated by the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021.

The banking system collapsed after the United States froze $7 billion of Afghan Central Bank assets in the wake of the militants' takeover.

The situation worsened with the suspension of foreign aid worth billions of dollars that contributed to supporting the state budget during twenty years of American occupation. The drought also severely affected Afghan agricultural production.

The Taliban announced its readiness to conclude economic deals with any party that wished to do so. So far, it has obtained oil and gas from neighboring Iran.

The Taliban was not recognized by any state, but Moscow maintained its connection with this movement even before its return to power.

Russia is one of the few countries that kept its embassy open in Kabul during and after the Taliban's return to power.

Russia is facing unprecedented Western sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine, which prompted Moscow to increase its exports to Asia to boost its economy.