The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan has offered US investors access to the country’s vast mineral resources as it seeks to improve ties with Washington. Kabul has also urged the US to lift sanctions and release billions of dollars in Afghan assets frozen overseas. The Taliban wants greater American investment in mining, infrastructure, agriculture, trade and other sectors.

The offer comes five years after the Taliban returned to power following the withdrawal of US-led Nato forces from Afghanistan. The withdrawal led to the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government. US President Donald Trump had earlier called the withdrawal and the events that followed “the most embarrassing thing in the history of our country”.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the Financial Times that Afghanistan was “absolutely” open to US investment across several sectors, including mining, infrastructure, agriculture and trade. “Relations between Afghanistan and the United States should not be assessed through the lens of the past 20 years of war, but rather on the basis of future co-operation,” FT quoted Muttaqi as saying at his office in Kabul. He added that Afghanistan’s economic policy was open.

Afghanistan has an estimated $1 trillion worth of mineral resources, according to geological surveys carried out by the US and the former Western-backed Afghan government. The country holds large deposits of copper, iron ore, niobium, cobalt, gold and lithium. Much of this wealth remains undeveloped after decades of war and instability.

The Taliban has tried to attract foreign investment into the mining sector since taking control of Afghanistan. It has announced more than $7 billion in mining investments since 2021, involving countries such as China and Iran, according to the Financial Times. These projects cover resources including gold, gemstones and chromite.

Despite some improvement in security since the withdrawal of NATO-led forces, Afghanistan remains one of the world’s poorest countries. More than 14 million people, or around one-third of the population, face acute hunger, according to the Financial Times.

The Taliban’s treatment of women and girls remains a major barrier to international engagement. The group has imposed wide-ranging restrictions on women’s education, employment and participation in public life. These policies have drawn widespread international condemnation. Last year, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada over alleged gender-based persecution.

Foreign diplomats in Kabul told the Financial Times that potential US investors would have to deal with UN and Western sanctions imposed on senior Taliban officials. Muttaqi is among the officials affected by such sanctions. Diplomats also warned that greater financial flows could strengthen the Taliban government and reduce international pressure on the group to change its policies.

The Taliban has continued its diplomatic outreach despite these concerns. China, India, Iran, Qatar and several Central Asian countries have opened channels with Kabul or hosted Taliban officials. Russia formally recognised the Taliban government last year. Moscow also signed a military co-operation agreement with Afghanistan in May.

The European Union has also increased engagement with the Taliban. The bloc hosted Taliban officials in Brussels in June to discuss possible migrant returns. It was the EU’s first meeting with Taliban representatives in Brussels since the group returned to power in 2021. Germany has also proposed similar talks.

The Taliban hopes growing diplomatic engagement will eventually help it secure sanctions relief and access to Afghan reserves held overseas. Muttaqi told the Financial Times that sanctions “did not achieve their intended objectives”. He argued that Afghan assets should not be used as a political tool.

“No individual, government or institution should use the assets of the Afghan people as a tool of political pressure,” he was quoted as saying.

Afghanistan’s central bank estimates that around $9.5 billion of its reserves remain outside the country. Around $7 billion of that amount is held in the US. Washington moved $3.5 billion into the Switzerland-based Afghan Fund in 2022. The fund was created to support Afghanistan’s financial stability while keeping the money out of the Taliban’s direct control. The fund has since grown to more than $4 billion with interest, according to the Financial Times.

Trump, however, has shown limited interest in closer economic ties with the Taliban. Instead, he has pushed for the US to regain control of Bagram air base, located north of Kabul. The Taliban has rejected the proposal.

“All military and civilian facilities in Afghanistan, including Bagram, are national assets of Afghanistan,” Muttaqi said.

While rejecting the proposal over Bagram, Muttaqi called on Washington to reopen its embassy in Kabul. The US abandoned the embassy after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. Kabul now hopes economic cooperation, diplomatic engagement and access to its frozen assets can help strengthen ties with Washington.