Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, met on Friday, 24 October, with Shaher Al-Taqi, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Delta International, to discuss investment in Afghanistan’s oil and gas sector.

Photographs released by Baradar’s office showed Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US envoy to Afghanistan, also attending the meeting.

According to a statement from Baradar’s office, the talks focused on the exploration, extraction, and development of gas pipelines in Afghanistan. The statement said Al-Taqi expressed his company’s interest in investing in the oil and gas industry and pledged to share Delta International’s technical expertise with Afghan engineers.

Delta International, based in Jeddah, is a Saudi energy firm active in oil and gas exploration. It has previously taken part in major regional projects, including Azerbaijan’s “Contract of the Century” and the Turkmenistan gas pipeline consortium.

Khalilzad, who has been in Kabul since 22 October, has held several informal meetings with Taliban officials, according to sources. Although he currently holds no official role in the US government, he has in recent months travelled to Kabul as part of unofficial delegations, including visits alongside Adam Boehler, the US special envoy for hostage affairs.