Afghanistan: The New El Dorado?
On June 14, 2010, the New York Times announced the discovery in Afghanistan of billions of dollars in natural resources. This announcement comes after numerous geological studies, started under the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, were completed by the American government. According to an internal Pentagon memo, thanks to these mineral deposits of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and lithium, Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of Lithium” (a key material in the production of batteries and electronics). Jalil Jumriany, an advisor to the Afghan Minister of Mines, claims that “the minerals will become the backbone of the Afghan economy.”
The Afghan president and government see this discovery as a reason to hope for a prosperous future. Knowing that Afghanistan has 29 million inhabitants, and if the value of these mineral resources were confirmed, each Afghan citizen could obtain $34,482.76, according to the calculations of Alissa J. Rubin of Sughar Daily. This money could improve the life of Afghan citizens and create new jobs. However, Daily Beast writer Bruce Riedel, in his article “The Afghan Gold Rush,” worries that this discovery will be a new source of conflict and tension. Afghanistan needs foreign investments in order to develop its resource extraction capacity. This investment will most likely come from China and India, and international and regional competition could increase the corruption already present in the country. However, according to Amity Shlaes, the discovery of natural resources is not necessarily synonymous with a resource curse. The example of Botswana demonstrates that if property rights are respected, natural resources can create economic growth and decrease the country’s mortality rate. However, at this time, it is difficult to confirm which of these hypotheses will come true.
The five articles are:
- « The Afghan Gold Rush » By Bruce Riedel, The Daily Beast, 16 June 2010
- « Découverte d’importants gisements de minerais dans le sous-sol afghan» By the staff of Nouvelobs.com, 14 June 2010
- « Why $1 Trillion May Thwart Afghanistan Dreams» By Amity Shlaes, Bloomberg, 14 June 2010
- « L’Afghanistan potentiellement riche » by the staff of le Monde, 14 June 2010
- « Afghan Officials Elated by Minerals Report » by Alissa J. Rubin, Surghar Daily, 15 June 2010
