Afghanistan's Taliban government is seeking to reset relations with the United States by offering American investors access to its vast mineral resources, while urging Washington to ease sanctions and release billions of dollars in frozen Afghan assets.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the Financial Times that Afghanistan was “absolutely” open to US investment in mining, infrastructure, agriculture and trade. The outreach comes five years after the Taliban returned to power following the withdrawal of US-led forces from Afghanistan.
The proposal is significant because Afghanistan is estimated to possess at least $1 trillion worth of mineral resources, including copper, iron ore, lithium, cobalt, gold and niobium. However, that figure represents the estimated value of the country's mineral reserves and is not a $1 trillion investment package being offered to Washington.
Taliban Seeks US Investment
Muttaqi said Kabul wanted future relations with Washington to be based on economic cooperation rather than the two countries' history of war.
He told the Financial Times that Afghanistan's economic policy was open and that US companies could invest in sectors including mining, infrastructure, agriculture and trade.
The Taliban hopes increased economic engagement could help Afghanistan reduce its diplomatic and financial isolation and attract international capital for projects that have remained underdeveloped for decades.
$1 Trillion Mineral Wealth
Afghanistan's mineral wealth is at the centre of the Taliban's pitch to American investors.
US and former Afghan government geological surveys have estimated that the country has at least $1 trillion in mineral resources. The deposits include copper, iron ore, cobalt, lithium, gold and niobium.
Much of this resource base remains undeveloped because of decades of conflict, weak infrastructure and limited investment.
The Taliban is now attempting to position the mineral sector as a potential source of foreign investment and economic growth.
Kabul Wants Sanctions Relief
The investment pitch is linked to the Taliban's wider demand for an end to economic restrictions.
Kabul wants international sanctions against Taliban officials to be eased and is seeking the release of Afghan central-bank assets held overseas.
Muttaqi argued that sanctions had failed to achieve their intended objectives and said Afghan assets should not be used as a political instrument.
The Taliban's position reflects its effort to obtain greater access to the international financial system and attract foreign capital.
Billions In Frozen Assets
Afghanistan's central bank estimates that around $9.5 billion of its reserves remain outside the country, including roughly $7 billion in the United States, according to the Financial Times report cited by Moneycontrol.
Washington transferred $3.5 billion of Afghan reserves in 2022 to the Switzerland-based Afghan Fund, which was established to support Afghanistan's financial stability without placing the money directly under Taliban control.
The fund has since grown to more than $4 billion with interest, according to the report.
Bagram Remains Off Limits
The Taliban's economic outreach does not extend to handing back Bagram Air Base to the United States.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought the return of the strategically important former US military facility north of Kabul. The Taliban, however, considers Bagram an Afghan national asset.
Muttaqi said Afghanistan's military and civilian facilities, including Bagram, were national assets and therefore not part of the economic offer to Washington.
The distinction is important: Kabul is signalling that American businesses can return through investment, while rejecting a renewed US military presence.
China Iran Already Invest
The Taliban has already been seeking foreign investment in Afghanistan's mining sector.
Since returning to power in 2021, the government has announced more than $7 billion in mining investments involving countries including China and Iran, covering resources such as gold, gemstones and chromite.
The outreach to the United States therefore represents an attempt to broaden Afghanistan's investment partnerships rather than relying on a small group of existing foreign investors.
US Faces Investment Risks
For American companies, Afghanistan's mineral wealth comes with major political and operational risks.
Afghanistan remains one of the world's poorest countries, while international concerns over the Taliban's restrictions on women and girls continue to affect its relations with Western governments.
Potential investors would also have to navigate sanctions involving senior Taliban officials and the broader question of whether increased financial flows could strengthen the Taliban government.
The Taliban has nevertheless expanded diplomatic engagement with countries including China, India, Iran, Qatar and several Central Asian states. Russia formally recognised the Taliban government last year and has also deepened cooperation with Kabul.
A New US-Taliban Equation
The Taliban's latest outreach represents an attempt to separate economic cooperation from the legacy of the 20-year US war in Afghanistan.
Kabul is effectively offering American companies access to a potentially enormous resource base while asking Washington for sanctions relief and greater access to frozen Afghan funds.
But the proposal faces significant obstacles, including the Taliban's international isolation, sanctions, human-rights concerns and Washington's unresolved demand over Bagram.
For now, the clearest message from Kabul is that Afghanistan wants American investment, but not a return of the US military. The country's estimated $1 trillion mineral wealth provides the economic foundation for that pitch, but whether Washington or major American companies are prepared to engage remains uncertain.
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