Chairman of Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce Hossein Salimi on Tuesday welcomed Iran’s investment in Afghanistan’s mining sector as good news for the private sector.
Speaking during an exclusive interview with Iran Chamber of Commerce newsroom, Salimi said that a visit to Afghanistan by Iranian Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Reza Mohtashami-Pour could be a prelude to mining cooperation between the two countries.
During the two-day visit, Mohtashami-Pour met with some Afghan officials and mining experts in Kabul, including the minister of mines and petroleum and his deputies, officials from the ministry of foreign affairs, and the president of the Afghanistan precious stones association.
Noting that Afghanistan enjoys rich reserves of copper, lithium, iron, gold, Niobium and cobalt, Salimi said that with the excavation of these mines, Afghanistan could turn into one of the main exporters of minerals in the world.
Referring to the lack of stability in Afghanistan where changes occur very quickly, he said that in order to be able to make investments in Afghanistan, the private sector would need stabilized rules which guarantees the security of investment in the country.
China, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey have been investing in Afghanistan’s mining sector for many years, Salimi said, adding that Iran as a neighbor of Afghanistan with long borders should not neglect investment in the country.