LONDON: The Taliban have signaled their openness to US investment in Afghanistan’s mining, infrastructure, agriculture and trade industries as part of a bid to mend ties between Kabul and Washington. Interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the Financial Times that the Taliban would “absolutely” welcome US investment, adding: “Relations between Afghanistan and the US should not be assessed through the lens of the past 20 years of war, but rather on the basis of future co-operation.” The White House has not issued a response to Muttaqi’s comments. In his first term, US President Donald Trump said he was considering an arrangement to use Afghanistan’s mineral wealth to make the Taliban pay for Washington’s war and reconstruction efforts, which cost $117 billion by 2017. Afghanistan holds mineral deposit reserves valued at more than $1 trillion, according to a study by the US Geological Survey. The country’s earth contains vast deposits of gold, silver and platinum, as well as iron ore, uranium, zinc, tantalum, bauxite, coal, natural gas and copper. The Taliban’s economic policy “is open,” said Muttaqi, highlighting the group’s pitch to the international community in seeking recognition five years after retaking control of Afghanistan. Despite Taliban assurances that their return to power would include a liberalization of policies, they have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, barring 2.5 million of them from secondary schools and universities, as well as limiting their freedom of movement. Since retaking power in 2021, the Taliban government has only been formally recognized by Russia. Other countries such as China, Pakistan, India and Iran have offered leaders in Afghanistan bilateral trade and investment agreements in exchange for security guarantees. The US, however, has maintained its distance from the Taliban, except to request American military equipment left behind after the war. Muttaqi rejected the US request. “All military and civilian facilities in Afghanistan, including Bagram, are national assets of Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the US can, however, reopen its embassy in Kabul. The Taliban have “ensured its security … rebuilt the road and planted new trees,” he said, adding that the location is “very vibrant and attractive.”