By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani told a group of Chinese officials and businessmen that Afghanistan plans to make foreign investment easier, especially for its potentially promising mining sector.
Ghani told the delegation at the presidential palace in the Afghan capital of Kabul that Kabul hopes to develop its mining industry to export its rich mineral resources and wants the country to become a transit hub for Asia.
"The President asked the Chinese delegation to help connect the two countries via the Wakhan Corridor," a statement by the Presidential Palace said, referring to the northeastern border with China.
The meeting comes not long after the Afghan mines minister criticized foreign companies, including those from China, one of the top investors in Afghanistan, for not complying with mining rules.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Afghanistan has reserves of oil, gas, lithium and other rare metals and minerals worth trillions of dollars.
Ghani told the Chinese delegation that Afghanistan also has the potential to produce 26,000 Megawatts of electricity, enough not only to meet local demand but also to be exported to energy-starved neighbor Pakistan and India.
A former World Bank official, Ghani has been keen to build a sustainable Afghan economy and enhance regional trade cooperation.
