DOHA, May 27. /TASS/. China aims to take the place of Western companies in Afghanistan’s mining sector, having assumed prompt measures to invest in the country’s economy right after the withdrawal of American troops in 2021, the Afghan DIDPress agency said.
After the pullout of all foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2021, China quickly started filling the investment gap that emerged in the country, as it signed around 200 contracts on mineral extraction with the interim Afghan government formed by the Taliban radical movement, the agency said. Such steps could lead to the creation of about 150,000 jobs in the country, it added.
A 25-year agreement with China’s CAPEIC on oil production in the Afghan province of Sar-e Pol, which stipulates annual investment in the amount of $150 mln, is considered one of the most important, DIDPress noted.
Apart from China, among the key players in Afghanistan’s mining sector is Iran, which participates in the development of the Ghoryan iron ore mine in the Ghorian province, while the trade turnover between the two countries is nearing $3.3 bln, according to the agency.
In April 2021, then-US President Joe Biden announced a decision to end the country’s military operation in Afghanistan, the longest foreign military campaign in the history of the United States. The US launched the operation in October 2001. At its peak - from 2010 to 2013 - the number of Western forces in Afghanistan surpassed 150,000. The withdrawal of US troops began in May 2021.
After the US announced that it was withdrawing from the country, the Taliban movement embarked on a large-scale operation to take control of Afghanistan. On August 15, 2021, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped down and fled the country, while Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance. By early September 2021, all US forces had left Afghanistan.