Karzai sees sign of fresh battle

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Friday he was concerned about a looming battle over his country's untapped mineral resources and that Afghanistan's major donors should be prioritised in exploiting them.
US defence officials said this week that Afghanistan has untapped mineral deposits that could be worth more than $1 trillion based on a recent study of a 2007 US survey and other information from the Soviet era.
"There will be rivalry over the resources, especially now that the world knows the significance of Afghan resources," said Karzai, who is visiting Japan until Sunday.
"I hope we will be able to manage it properly both in terms of rivalry from the international bidders in Afghanistan and also within Afghanistan, we should be able to manage the returns of those mineral extractions properly for Afghanistan," he said in a seminar hosted by the Japan Institute of International Affairs.
The news on the wealth of Afghanistan's mineral reserves, including copper, iron ore and lithium, came as pessimism grows in the United States over the nine-year conflict ahead of a planned gradual withdraw of its forces from July 2011.
Some experts say the deposits figure is untested and warn that it could take years or decades for that money to materialise because of issues such as poor infrastructure and corruption.
Karzai, who noted that these resources must be used in an environment-friendly and accountable way to prevent corruption, also said that patience was needed for development and hinted that he could favour certain investors.
"Morally, Afghanistan should give access as a priority to those countries that have helped Afghanistan massively in the past few years," he said, adding that Japan, the second biggest donor to Afghanistan in terms of money pledged, would be a welcome investment partner.
The 52-year-old president, who is serving his second term, said he would meet Japan's top trading house Mitsubishi Corporation later on Friday to discuss the issue.
Afghanistan, with a nascent mining sector, will be promoting its mining wealth at a road show in London on June 25 to bolster interest in its major iron ore deposits and other minerals.
In 2007, Afghanistan awarded a giant copper contract to a Chinese consortium for a deposit south of Kabul, but it shelved an iron ore tender in February due to low interest, market instability and corruption claims over the 2007 deal.
Karzai on Thursday met Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who called on Afghanistan to improve its governance so that Japan's aid did not go to waste.
Japan has pledged up to $5 billion in aid for Afghanistan over five years from 2009, and has contributed about $990 million of it so far.