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Kabul: Gochin, a China-based company has reportedly expressed its interest in investing USD 10 billion in Afghanistan’s lithium deposits.
Taliban’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum was quoted by The Khaama Press saying that the Taliban arguably perceive Beijing as a potential source of economic investment following the US withdrawal.
The acting minister for Mine and Petroleum, Shahabuddin Delawar, met with the Chinese company representatives in Kabul and said that the investment would create 120,000 direct and a million indirect jobs in the country, reported Khaama Press.
The Chinese company also offered to repair the Salang Pass within seven months and carve another tunnel, according to the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum statement.
Gochin stressed that the process of the lithium deposits will get done inside the country, and to process it, a hydroelectric dam will be built, and Kumar and Laghman Road will be asphalted, reported Khaama Press.
Since the Taliban takeover of the country, China has increased its influence via economic ties with the current regime.
According to several media reports, Chinese companies have long aspired to access Afghanistan’s extensive and rich lithium deposits, estimated to be worth more than USD 1 trillion.
The Taliban-run Afghanistan saw its first significant foreign investment in January 2023 when a Chinese firm signed a 25-year-long, multimillion-dollar contract to extract oil.
In January, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum signed the extraction contract of the Amu oil field with the Chinese company China Petroleum Economics and Information Research Center (CPEIC).
According to the contract, Afghanistan’s share is 20 per cent, which will reach 75 per cent in the future, reported Khaama Press. However, the risks involved are higher, especially in the context of attacks on Chinese nationals.
With input from agencies.
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