Taliban Offers United States Access To Afghanistan’s Mineral Wealth Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has expressed openness to U.S. investment in Afghanistan, emphasizing economic collaboration as a path to lifting international sanctions and releasing frozen Afghan assets. Speaking to the Financial Times on 31 August, Muttaqi stated that relations between Afghanistan and the United States should be evaluated based on future cooperation rather than the past 20 years of conflict. He highlighted that Afghanistan’s economic policy is open to foreign investment, including in mining, infrastructure, agriculture, and trade. However, Muttaqi did not confirm whether the proposal for U.S. investment had been directly presented to the White House. Geological assessments by the U.S. and former Afghan authorities indicate Afghanistan holds untapped mineral reserves valued at over $1 trillion, including copper, iron ore, niobium, cobalt, gold, and lithium. Since reclaiming power in 2021, the Taliban has signed mining contracts worth more than $7 billion, primarily with China and Iran, focusing on gold, precious stones, and chromite. Despite these efforts, UN experts have warned that normalizing relations with the Taliban should not occur without significant progress on human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls. Muttaqi criticized international sanctions, arguing they have failed to achieve their intended goals. He asserted that no individual, government, or institution should use Afghan assets as a tool of political pressure. U.S. President Donald Trump has shown limited willingness to engage with the Taliban, maintaining demands for the return of Bagram Air Base, which Muttaqi rejected, calling it a national asset of Afghanistan.#taliban #financial_times #un #afghanistan #amir_khan_muttaqi
