The Islamic Emirate officials say five countries are interested in investing in the “lithium” mining sector in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province.

Mohammad Yunus Rashid, the deputy of youth in the Ministry of Information and Culture, said that Japan, the US, China, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are among the countries that are interested in investing in the mining sector of lithium mines in Nuristan province.

“There is a lot of interest in lithium mining at the global level, five countries have made contact with the Islamic Emirate and said that they are ready to invest in this sector,” said Rashid.

According to officials, there are high capacities for economic self-sufficiency in the country and positive changes will be made in the economic development of the country in the near future.

Economic experts meanwhile believe that if the extraction and processing of the country’s minerals are done in Afghanistan, the country can get out of the economic crisis very quickly.

“There are trillions of dollars of capacity in Afghanistan’s mines, which should be invested, the statistics should be accurate, the regions should be determined, in which areas we have what kind of mines,” said Kamaluddin Kakar, an economic expert.

In addition, members of the private sector say they are trying to invest jointly and individually with foreign investors in the mining sector. They call on the Islamic Emirate to hand over mining contracts to companies that have the ability to process in the country.

The Ministry of Finance said that based on the decision of the leadership of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, customs duties on basic food items have dropped by between 50 and 70 percent in the last solar year.

As a result of this decision customs duties have been reduced to the value of 6.7 million afghanis this year, the ministry said.

The decision to decrease customs duties on the food items that include flour, wheat, cooking oil, rice, and sugar, was to keep the prices down on local markets.

The leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Mawlavi Hibatullah Akhundzadah, met with ministry of finance customs officials on Wednesday and shared necessary guidance and recommendations.

According to the ministry statement, Deputy Minister of Finance for Revenue and Customs, Mullah Muhammad Nasser Akhund, General Director of Customs, Mufti Abdul Matin Saeed, and all the officials of the country’s customs were present in the meeting.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Finance for Revenue and Customs and the General Director of Customs of the Ministry presented a detailed report related to their performance since the takeover of the country by the Islamic Emirate and also shared their recommendations for improving related matters with Mawlavi Hibatullah Akhundzadah, the ministry said.

The leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan pointed out to the officials their assigned responsibilities and gave them the necessary guidance.

“The leader also gave them recommendations in order to provide better services for the Islamic ruling system, treat people well, provide facilities for merchants and other related sectors,” read the statement.