Institutional strengthening of the Afghanistan Geological Survey : a project undertaken by the British Geological Survey

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, to give it its official name, is a relatively recent nation state, gaining full independence only after the end of the Third Anglo- Afghan war on 19th August 1919. It is of course steeped in antiquity. Located at the crossroads of Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, it has long been a place of changing dynasties and empires and passing military invasions, including those of Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. More recently, since the late 1970s, it has been in a state of almost continuous warfare, culminating in the 2001 invasion led by the United States, resulting in the removal of the Taliban government.