In an interview with the Financial Times in Kabul, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Afghanistan would “absolutely” welcome American investment in mining, infrastructure, agriculture and trade. “Relations between Afghanistan and the United States should not be assessed through the lens of the past 20 years of war, but rather on the basis of future co-operation,” he said. “Our economic policy is open.”

Geological surveys estimate Afghanistan holds at least $1 trillion in largely untapped resources, including copper, lithium, cobalt, gold, iron ore and niobium. Kabul is also pressing for the return of frozen reserves, which Afghanistan’s central bank puts at $9.5 billion held abroad, including about $7 billion in the United States.

The outreach comes five years after the Taliban returned to power and as the group tries to ease its diplomatic isolation, despite continued international criticism over severe restrictions on women and girls. President Trump has shown little interest in closer ties and has instead pressed for the return of Bagram air base, a demand the Taliban has rejected.