Kabul: Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has offered American investors access to the country’s vast mineral resources, urging Washington to lift sanctions and release billions of dollars in frozen Afghan assets. The move marks one of the most direct overtures the Taliban has made toward the United States since returning to power five years ago, following the withdrawal of US-led NATO forces.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Afghanistan was “absolutely” open to US investment across mining, infrastructure, agriculture and trade. “Relations between Afghanistan and the United States should not be assessed through the lens of the past 20 years of war, but rather on the basis of future co-operation,” Muttaqi said, adding that Afghanistan’s economic policy was open.
Geological surveys carried out by the US and the former Western-backed Afghan government estimate Afghanistan holds at least $1 trillion worth of mineral resources, including copper, iron ore, niobium, cobalt, gold and lithium. Much of this wealth remains undeveloped after decades of conflict.
Since taking control in 2021, the Taliban has announced more than $7 billion in mining investments involving countries including China and Iran, covering resources such as gold, gemstones and chromite.
Despite some security improvements following the NATO withdrawal, Afghanistan remains one of the world’s poorest countries. More than 14 million people, roughly one-third of the population, face acute hunger. The Taliban’s sweeping restrictions on women’s access to education, employment and public life continue to draw international condemnation. Last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada over alleged gender-based persecution.
Afghanistan’s central bank estimates around $9.5 billion of its reserves remain outside the country, including approximately $7 billion held in the US. In 2022, Washington transferred $3.5 billion into the Switzerland-based Afghan Fund to support financial stability without giving the Taliban direct access. That fund has since grown to more than $4 billion with interest.
Muttaqi argued that sanctions “did not achieve their intended objectives” and that Afghan assets should not serve as a political instrument. He also called on Washington to reopen its embassy in Kabul.
US President Donald Trump has shown limited interest in closer Taliban ties, instead proposing that Bagram air base return to US control. The Taliban rejected the proposal, calling all military and civilian facilities national assets of Afghanistan.
China, India, Iran, Qatar and several Central Asian countries have already opened channels with Kabul. Russia formally recognised the Taliban government last year and signed a military cooperation agreement in May. The European Union hosted Taliban officials in Brussels in June for its first such meeting since 2021.
