ID :
133802
Wed, 07/21/2010 - 00:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/133802
The shortlink copeid
Afghan invites Indian companies to tap resources
Anil K Joseph
Kabul, Jul 20 (PTI) Afghanistan, sitting on vast
reserves of iron, copper, cobalt and gold, has invited Indian
companies to tap the nearly USD one trillion worth of minerals
discovered in the country as the two nations try to enhance
and diversify their trade ties.
Afghan Minister for Minerals Wahidullah Shahrani, who
met visiting Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna here
Monday night, said his government was moving ahead with plans
to tap the huge mineral resources recently discovered in his
country and welcomed Indian companies to tap the resources,
official sources said.
"We welcome Indian companies with good reputation to
tap the resources in Afghanistan," the sources quoted the
Afghan Minister as saying.
Indian officials here said they were quite confident
that many Indian companies will succeed in operating in
Afghanistan despite the security problems posed by the
Taliban.
The Afghan government is moving ahead with open
tendering and making the necessary infrastructure for the
mining industry.
They noted that companies like ArcelorMittal have held
roadshows in Afghanistan recently and have expressed keen
interest in tapping the minerals.
Moreover, the just-inked Afghan-Pakistan trade
agreement would make it easier for Indian companies to
excavate and export the minerals to India via road.
The United States has recently discovered nearly USD 1
trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far
beyond any previously known reserves and enough to
fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan
war itself.
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins
of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals
like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that
are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could
eventually be transformed into one of the most important
mining centers in the world, the New York Times quoted
American officials as saying.
An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that
Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," a key
raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and
BlackBerrys.
The vast scale of Afghanistan's mineral wealth was
discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American
geologists. (More) PTI
Kabul, Jul 20 (PTI) Afghanistan, sitting on vast
reserves of iron, copper, cobalt and gold, has invited Indian
companies to tap the nearly USD one trillion worth of minerals
discovered in the country as the two nations try to enhance
and diversify their trade ties.
Afghan Minister for Minerals Wahidullah Shahrani, who
met visiting Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna here
Monday night, said his government was moving ahead with plans
to tap the huge mineral resources recently discovered in his
country and welcomed Indian companies to tap the resources,
official sources said.
"We welcome Indian companies with good reputation to
tap the resources in Afghanistan," the sources quoted the
Afghan Minister as saying.
Indian officials here said they were quite confident
that many Indian companies will succeed in operating in
Afghanistan despite the security problems posed by the
Taliban.
The Afghan government is moving ahead with open
tendering and making the necessary infrastructure for the
mining industry.
They noted that companies like ArcelorMittal have held
roadshows in Afghanistan recently and have expressed keen
interest in tapping the minerals.
Moreover, the just-inked Afghan-Pakistan trade
agreement would make it easier for Indian companies to
excavate and export the minerals to India via road.
The United States has recently discovered nearly USD 1
trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far
beyond any previously known reserves and enough to
fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan
war itself.
The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins
of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals
like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that
are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could
eventually be transformed into one of the most important
mining centers in the world, the New York Times quoted
American officials as saying.
An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that
Afghanistan could become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," a key
raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and
BlackBerrys.
The vast scale of Afghanistan's mineral wealth was
discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American
geologists. (More) PTI
