Afghanistan’s government, the Taliban has allowed China to begin working on its copper mine located in the Mes Aynak region. The region was disputed as it was once home to the remarkable ancient Buddha statues and temples. There was a 16-year delay due to conflict that led China to pause working on the copper mine. Both China and Afghanistan could make billions in copper reserves and increase their share of GDP.
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However, the conflict has been resolved and the Taliban has allowed China to work on the vast copper deposits. The deposits are estimated to be worth billions of dollars and will be a potential source of revenue for Afghanistan. “The time wasted in the implementation of the project should be recuperated with speedy work,” said Abdul Ghani Baradar, Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs.
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China Begins Work on Afghanistan’s Copper Deposits
As the path for drilling is now open, security concerns remain a major challenge for Chinese workers in the country. The war-torn nation is notorious for kidnapping, killings, and bombings leading to a risky state of affairs for Chinese nationals at work. The copper drilling was marked with a round of ribbon cutting from the Chinese and Taliban officials with engineers in their presence.
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The friendly relations with China come after the Communist nation helped Afghanistan sell $80 million worth of crude oil. China helped the Taliban sell petroleum worth $80 million in just 10 days in June this year. The Chinese government is also lending a helping hand to Afghanistan to boost its crude oil output to 8,000 barrels per day (bpd).
The development cemented China and Afghanistan’s ties and the two are now growing trade partners. “The economic and trade relations between the two countries are becoming increasingly close,” said China’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Zhao Xing.