TEHRAN – Deputy Industry Mining and Trade Minister Reza Mohtashami-Pour, who traveled to Afghanistan for a two-day visit, said Afghan officials have called on Iranian mining companies to develop the country’s mines.

“Afghan officials want Iranian mining companies to start operating in their country, and negotiations are scheduled to continue next week at the expert level followed by field visits,” Mohtashami-Pour told the ministry’s news portal Shata on Tuesday.

During the visit, good talks were held on mining cooperation and possible obstacles that exist due to regulations and some decisions by the Afghan government, as well as capacities that could be the starting points for Tehran-Kabul cooperation in the mining industry, the official said.

According to the deputy minister, Iranian companies, especially large firms, are cautious about security issues in Afghanistan.

“The development of Afghanistan's large mines is only at the beginning of the way and the necessary infrastructure requirements must be prepared in this regard, however, with a strong extraterritorial presence in the field of mining, we will be sensitive to identifying capacities and using them,” he said.

During the two-day visit, Mohtashami-Pour met with some Afghan officials and mining experts in Kabul, including the minister of mines and petroleum and his deputies, officials of the ministry of foreign affairs, and the president of the Afghanistan precious stones association.

EF/MA