Afghanistan’s Mineral, Oil, and Gas Industries: Unless U.S. Agencies Act Soon to Sustain Investments Made, $488 Million in Funding Is at Risk
Publisher: Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
Date: 2015
Topics: Extractive Resources, Governance
Countries: Afghanistan
Since 2009, the Department of Defense (DOD) Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) and the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) have been the two U.S. government entities that provided assistance in direct support of Afghanistan’s extractive
industries. TFBSO documents state that it administered 11 initiatives aimed at developing Afghanistan’s extractive industries by pursuing three
broad objectives: (1) restoring productive capacity in the Afghan economy wherever possible, across all industrial sectors, (2) stimulating economic
growth, and (3) serving as a catalyst for private investment in Afghanistan by linking the international business community with Afghan business
leaders and government officials. In addition to minerals and hydrocarbons development, TFBSO activities included projects to
facilitate private investment, industrial development, and other projects that the Secretary of Defense, with the concurrence of the Secretary of
State, determined would strengthen stability or provide strategic support to the counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan.