By Zia Khan/Staff Reporter


Afghanistan, sitting on top of an estimated $3tn underground riches, has sought Qatari investment in its rapidly growing mineral sector that apparently has the potential of lifting a generation out of poverty and weaning the war-torn country off international aid.
Khaled Ahmed Zakriya, Afghanistan’s ambasssador to Qatar, told Gulf Times that Kabul  would like to see mining companies from Qatar and the rest of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC)  invest in the sector to take advantage of huge untapped mineral reserves in his country.
“As we move towards transition by next year, we are looking for import substitutes and building an indigenous economy…and mining sector is our prime focus,” he said.
Afghanistan has rich deposits of copper, iron, gold, lithium, gas and rare earth worth up to $3tn, according to the Afghan government.
The government and the international community are eager to see these resources exploited.
Qatar and other GCC countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) being the nations rich in resources like oil and gas have developed state-of-the-art expertise in the exploration.   
Zakriya said the Afghan government also wants Qatari authorities to establish a permanent embassy in Kabul to further strengthen bilateral relations.
“We opened the embassy here in 2003…now 10 years down the line we expect Qatari leadership to reciprocate the move and go to Kabul. This is important because of both economic and political reasons,” added the ambassador.
The call came days after it was reported that Qatar has agreed to host a political office for Afghan Taliban to help them hold dialogue with the Kabul administration for a reconciliation process ahead of a drawdown next year of the international forces led by the US.
Khaled said Qatari authorities promised to look into the prospects of establishing an embassy in Kabul when the Afghan foreign minister visited Doha last year. “We will like to see that happen as it is more important now,” he said.
The ambassador said he believed the private investors from Qatar and the GCC region could get windfall profits from investing in Afghanistan’s mining sector currently being dominated by the Western and Chinese companies.