Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

We Have to be Realistic!

Currently, Afghanistan has been highly dependent on international support to run its economic system. The international troops that have been in the country for almost a decade are preparing to withdraw from the country and that withdrawal is going to end till 2014. After the withdrawal is complete there are possibilities that the international aid entering the country may reduce considerably.

Though, the international community has made promises that the support for the country may continue till 2024, the international political and economic circumstances point towards some other facts – they clearly depict that there will be a considerable decline in financial support to Afghanistan, if not complete negligence.

On the other hand the security situation in the country has been going through a deteriorating trend. The terrorism seems to be rising in some of the most important parts of the country and the security situation still remains a question mark.

Moreover, the regional ties seem to be weakening and the reconciliation process seems out of shape. In fact reliable security still remains dubious. In such circumstances it would be a Herculean task to make the Afghan economy grow.

Afghan officials believe that investing in mining sector may boost Afghan economy to a great extent. Reports show that Afghanistan has about 3 trillion dollars of mineral resources, which can be of great support for Afghan economy if excavated and utilized properly.

The main minerals of Afghanistan include copper, iron, cobalt, lithium, gold, mercury and some others and Afghan officials believe that they are going to attract many international investors. One of the most important mining projects in Afghanistan is Aynak Copper mine project.

The project was basically won by Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) in 2008. There are expectations that MCC is going to invest more than 3.5 billion US dollars and the project will help create many job opportunities for young Afghans. According to some estimates it would create about 4,000-5,000 job opportunities directly and thousands more indirectly.

It is really important that Afghanistan should have a stable economy and mining sector can play a key role in this regard. Decades of wars and instability have ravaged the basic infra-structure in the country and the country has been suffering because of lack of basic facilities of life.

Mining sector is one of the most important hopes for the country and can really help the country to depend on its own regarding its affairs. But at the same time it must be kept in consideration that we have to be realistic in this regard.

Only high expectations and hopes can not make the mining sector groom and support the economic system. Proper arrangements have to be made so as to turn the hopes and expectations into reality. The mining sector is not just about digging the minerals out of the earth.

It includes a complete infrastructure. It involves complicated processes, machinery and latest technology. Above all it requires a reliable and working transportation system that must be free of risk and must prove helpful in transporting heavy equipments and human resource to the mountainous areas where minerals are located.

In addition, the same transportation system must transfer the minerals that are dug out to different plants for being refined and changed to usable conditions. The mining sector also requires strong, cheap and reliable communication system that must remain undisturbed by the culprits.

As a matter of fact, for the whole process, in order to reach to its final phase, a lot of investment and a decade or more of peaceful socio-political circumstances are required. While forming expectations about mining sector, it is necessary for the government officials to keep in considerations all these facts.