Monday, June 18, 2012 -
Bishkek plans to sell locally refined petroleum products to Afghanistan, a Kyrgyz government minister said on Friday .
Kyrgyz Minister of Economy and Antitrust Policy Temir Sariev said some of the products simply do not make the grade to sell within Kyrgyzstan.
“Kant refinery cannot sell its products domestically because of competition on quality, but there is an opportunity to export products to Afghanistan,” Sariev told a government meeting.
He said the exports would be transported to Afghanistan by road via Tajikistan, which is located between Kyrgyzstan and the South Asian nation.
The project will lead to creation of hundreds of jobs and additional tax revenues, he said.
The Kyrgyz and Afghan governments have signed a tentative agreement on the initiative, said Sariev.
Export products from Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan are currently shipped by railway.