Afghanistan's acting FM Muttaqi meets Chinese envoy Wang; discuss bilateral ties & trade

Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of Taliban-led government in Afghanistan on Saturday, 6 November met with China’s ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu. The foreign ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in an update on Twitter that Muttaqi and Wang’s meeting focussed on the bilateral relations between Afghanistan and China. Both officials also exchanged views on joint trade and especially the export of Afghan pine nuts to China.

The latest meeting between Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister and Chinese envoy came after just last month, Taliban said that Beijing has provided $1 million to the war-torn nation and that Beijing has also promised additional humanitarian aid worth $5 million. Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Minister called on the United States as well as other western nations to lift sanctions on the country, which is now under the Taliban’s leadership. 

It is also pertinent to note that Muttaqi and Wang met amid the Taliban’s repeated calls for wide international recognition. China is among the very rare nations that have shown unwavering support to the new government of Afghanistan that constitutes the members of the outfit. However, other nations are still choosing to stick with the wait and watch approach. Additionally, the Taliban on Friday resumed the operations of the Afghan Embassy Islamabad. As per the Tolo News report, the embassy confirmed the resumption of operation in a statement on its Facebook page. 

"All Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, businessmen, Pakistani nationals and other esteemed foreign citizens residing in Pakistan who wish to travel to Afghanistan via Pakistan are kindly informed that Afghanistan's Embassy in Islamabad and all General Consulates in Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta are active and carrying on their activities as before," the embassy statement said. "You can refer to the mentioned missions five days per week," it added.

Taliban called for international recognition

Months after the Taliban reconquered Afghanistan and formed the interim government, the extremist group has now claimed that it has implemented all the conditions for recognition by the international community. This comes after the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson recently said that the Taliban must fulfil the expectations of the international community for recognition of the newly-formed government in the war-torn country. The Taliban's Acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi restated the group's call for world leaders to engage with the present government in Afghanistan. 

In a tweet on 27 October, Bilal Karimi, the Taliban's deputy spokesman, said that Muttaqi called on the international community to recognise the Taliban government during a meeting with 14 foreign envoys in Doha and added that "The new government of Afghanistan, as the responsible government, has implemented all the conditions for recognition."

(IMAGE: @QaharBalkhi/Twitter)