KABUL (Pajhwok Afghan News) – Hamid Karzai on Saturday urged Turkey for greater investment in exploring fuel and gas resources in Afghanistan and expanded economic cooperation. During a meeting with Turkish Energy Minister Yildiz in Kabul, Karzai stressed enhanced political interaction with brotherly nation, the Presidential Palace said.

Turkey’s economic presence in Afghanistan was in the interest of both sides, Karzai remarked, demanding Turkish entrepreneurs be motivated to exploit the investment opportunities offered by his government. He directed his Minister of Mines Wahidullah Shahrani, who also present at the meeting, to coordinate with his Turkish counterpart on developing a framework for Turkish firms interested in discovering Afghanistan’s gas and oil resources.

The visiting minister promised to encourage Turkish investors to come to Afghanistan. He said the Turkish government would organise an international conference on investment in the Afghan oil and gas sector in Istanbul this coming spring.

Earlier in the day, Yildiz met Vice President Karim Khalili. Before the closed-door meeting, Khalili told reporters that Afghanistan attached great importance to its relations with Turkey.

Following talks with Shahrani, the minister expressed his country’s willingness for improved mining cooperation. “Let’s extract Afghanistan’s resources together and bring together technologies of the two countries,” he said.

Shahrani said a number of Turkish firms had been awarded tenders to explore oil in Shiberghan, the capital of northern Jawzjan province. Additionally, Turkey’s state-run oil company had agreed to drill for oil in areas along the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, he said.