KABUL: Mahmoud Siaadat, head of the Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, has said that Afghanistan, with estimated mineral reserves valued at $1 trillion to $3 trillion, has the potential to become one of the world’s emerging mining hubs, and that Iran could be one of the country’s key development partners in this sector.
According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, Siaadat stated that Iran’s geographical proximity to Afghanistan, access to international waters, shared linguistic and cultural ties, as well as its technical expertise and industrial infrastructure, have the capacity to develop Afghanistan’s mining industry.
He estimated the value of Afghanistan’s mineral reserves between $1 trillion to $3 trillion, adding that the country has the capacity to become a major global mining center.
The head of the Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber also said that bilateral cooperation in the mining sector is based on two main pillars, first, the export of technical services, engineering expertise, and mining equipment to Afghanistan, and second, the establishment of a joint value chain for mineral processing.
His remarks come as economic cooperation between Afghanistan and Iran has steadily expanded over the past four years. During this period, trade volume between the two countries has increased, joint economic meetings have been held regularly, and cooperation has broadened in the areas of transit, investment, energy, mining, and infrastructure development.
This comes, as the officials of both countries have repeatedly emphasized the importance of strengthening economic cooperation and utilizing shared capacities to expand bilateral trade and investment relations.
Iran could become a key partner in Afghanistan’s mining development, Iranian official
