Mine a trillion

News that the Pentagon has valued Afghanistans mineral wealth at around 1 trillion shouldnt come altogether as a surprise. However,for reasons of its turbulent history through most of the past century,proper geological surveys could not be undertaken and the news should alter some of the despair that informs perceptions about Afghanistans future. Dark jokes have for long captured the hopelessness of the countrys economy. This is why confirmation that one of the worlds poorest areas possesses the resources to change the lives of its people not least through,for the first time in history,giving it the potential to pay for an effective centralised state marks an opportunity to reimagine Afghanistan. And,too,the incentive to develop a strong government,capable of policing the extraction of these mineral resources and using the revenue for the greater common good.

But if the discovery,if it can be so called,offers the chance to transform Afghanistan from a country dependent primarily on its strategic location on trade routes to one that also trades,the obstacles to developing the country remain the same. Afghanistan needs a peace that will hold. Theres a severe infrastructure deficit in Afghanistan,a deficit that India too is trying to bridge with its efforts in highway-building. All those with a stake in Afghanistans stability and well-being must accelerate this. Afghanistan is a landlocked country,with all that it implies. It is dependent on its neighbours,and on stability and cooperation in the broader region,to sustain trade and transit routes. Iran is hit by sanctions; the Durand Line that divides it from Pakistan is riddled with insurgencies. China plans a road,but itll have to pass through some very difficult,volatile territory. Thus,as Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said this week,Afghanistans neighbours and regional partners will need to be in the picture8230; ensuring that it thrives as a trade and transit hub for the region.

This is a reminder of the need for India,Pakistan and Afghanistan to see the strategic and economic wisdom in cooperation.