INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Deputy prime minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund and a number of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) ministers visited the Mes Aynak
copper project in Logar on Friday where they met with a delegation from China&s MCC company that won the contract a few years ago to extract
the mineral.The visit on Friday was aimed at discussing the need to start the extraction of copper as soon as possible.The Chinese company
won the Aynak copper contract more than ten years ago and while work was initially started, operations shut down after a while due largely
to insecurity at the time.Baradar meanwhile said during the visit that &in order to improve the progress of Aynak copper mining, more
efforts should be made.& He also said that during the mining process, efforts should be made to protect the historical monuments and to
avoid causing any damage to them.Nuruddin Aziz, Minister of Industry and Trade, who was part of the delegation said: &The current situation
is a good opportunity to start practical work on Aynak copper project and it is also time to invest in Afghanistan&s mines to save this
country from the economic crisis and move it towards economic progress and growth.The IEA delegation included Shahabuddin Delawar, Minister
of Mines and Petroleum; Nuruddin Aziz, Minister of Industry and Trade; Qari Din Mohammad Hanif, Minister of Economy; Najibullah Haqqani,
Minister of Telecommunications; Noorul Haq Anwar, Director General of Affairs Department; Zia ul & Rahman, Minister of Planning and Policy;
and Hassamuddin Saberi, Finance and Administrative Deputy of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.The post IEA meets Chinese reps at Mes
Aynak copper mine in Logar province first appeared on Ariana News.
