Afghan interim foreign minister meets envoys in Qatar

ISTANBUL

The interim Taliban administration in Afghanistan said Wednesday that it held talks with several countries, including the US and UK, on a range of subjects in Qatar.

Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi is leading a delegation in the Gulf nation's capital Doha with representatives from the US, UK, Netherlands, Spain, South Korea, Italy, Australia, and Canada, an official from the interim Foreign Ministry said.

In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the ministry's deputy spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmad said "all-round detailed discussions" had been held on "recent progress IEA (Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan) made in politics economy, security, good governance, and countering drug."

Afghanistan's interim officials from the country's Treasury and Red Crescent organization also gave presentations about their work.

Muttaqi and his delegation, said Ahmed, "provided answers in detail to the questions and concerns raised by the ambassadors of various countries."

Doha had also hosted two days of talks over the weekend between Afghan officials and a 15-member US delegation headed by Washington's special representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West.

Since their return to power in August 2021, Taliban, whose government has not yet been recognized internationally, has been holding meetings with envoys from different nations in Qatar, where it has maintained its political office since 2013.

Muttaqi also met Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, Qatar’s special representative for Afghanistan at the Gulf nation's Foreign Ministry.

The two sides held talks on various political, economic, and trade issues, said Ahmad, adding that Qahtani said the current situation in Afghanistan is "satisfactory."

Qahtani said the region and the world "should step forward towards a constructive engagement with Afghanistan" and not waste existing opportunities, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry.