Mahmoud Seyadat, head of the Iran-Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce, has said Iran could become one of Afghanistan’s most important partners in developing the country’s mining sector by offering technical expertise, industrial infrastructure and geographic advantages.
Speaking to Fars News Agency on Sunday, Seyadat said Afghanistan possesses some of the world’s largest untapped mineral resources and that Iran is well positioned to cooperate in geological surveying, mineral exploration, drilling, extraction, equipment supply and professional training at costs lower than many Western technologies.
According to Seyadat, the proposed cooperation is based on two main pillars: exporting Iranian engineering services, mining equipment and technical expertise to Afghanistan, and establishing a joint economic value chain for mineral extraction and processing.
He suggested that minerals be extracted inside Afghanistan while part of the processing takes place in Iran, particularly in free trade zones near the two countries’ border. He argued that such a model would help Afghanistan reduce exports of raw materials, increase the value of its mineral resources and simultaneously supply raw materials needed by Iran’s mining industries.
Seyadat also highlighted the strategic importance of Iran’s ports of Chabahar and Bandar Abbas for exporting Afghan mineral products to international markets, adding that Iran should not remain a passive observer while other countries expand their presence in Afghanistan’s mining sector.
His remarks come after Fars News Agency previously reported that the Islamic Republic plans to invest approximately five billion dollars in Afghanistan’s iron mining industry.
Afghanistan is believed to possess significant reserves of copper, iron ore, lithium, gold and rare earth elements. However, insecurity, limited infrastructure, energy shortages and investment challenges continue to hinder large-scale development of the country’s mining sector.
