Taliban Seeks U.S. Investment in Afghanistan’s Mines, Infrastructure and Trade

Taliban acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the Financial Times that the administration welcomes U.S. investment in sectors such as mining, infrastructure, agriculture and trade in Afghanistan, as it continues to seek relief from sanctions pressure and the release of frozen Afghan assets.

The Financial Times reported on Monday, 9 September, that the Taliban administration hopes these proposals and diplomatic moves could pave the way for normalised relations and the lifting of international restrictions. Muttaqi told the newspaper that relations between Kabul and Washington should not be judged on the basis of the past 20 years of war, but should instead be built on future cooperation.

He did not, however, clarify whether the proposal had been presented directly to the White House. Muttaqi also called on Washington to reopen its embassy in Kabul, claiming the site is secure.

The Taliban administration’s acting foreign minister also described the sanctions as ineffective and said the people’s assets in Afghanistan should not be used as a tool of political pressure. In an interview with Japan’s Kyodo news agency, he also urged the United States to abandon its confrontational approach toward the Taliban administration.

This comes as UN experts have warned that any move to normalise relations with the Taliban administration should not take place without tangible progress on human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls. The warning comes amid the Taliban’s sweeping restrictions on women and girls, which remain one of the main obstacles to international engagement with the administration.

U.S. President Donald Trump has also shown no sign so far of wanting to establish relations with the Taliban administration. He previously called for the return of Bagram Air Base, a request Muttaqi rejected, describing Afghanistan’s military and civilian facilities as national assets.

Based on geological assessments by the United States and Afghanistan’s previous government, the country’s mineral reserves have been estimated at at least $1 trillion and include copper, iron ore, niobium, cobalt, gold and lithium. Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban administration has also signed mining contracts worth more than $7 billion with countries including China and Iran, according to published sources.