Taliban confirms participation at Russia's Moscow format meeting on Oct 20 alongside India

The Taliban government on Friday, October 15, confirmed its participation in Russia's Moscow-format meeting 2021 scheduled for October 20 and asserted that they are looking forward to discussing the ongoing situation in Afghanistan and will be seeking the cooperation of participant nations in the development of Afghanistan. 

The Taliban government will be sending the Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan Abdul Salam Hanafi as the chief of their delegation to Moscow. The Afghan Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Abdul Qahar Balkhi informed the same in a tweet and further wrote that they are planning to hold negotiations with representatives of different nations on several issues, seeking their cooperation on issues of mutual interests and trade during this diplomatic visit. 

Taliban confirms participation at Moscow format meeting on Oct 20

In the tweet, he wrote, “A senior delegation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan led by Deputy PM H.E. Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi will attend the upcoming Moscow meeting and meet with representatives of different states to discuss issues of mutual interest.”

This is the Taliban’s second official meeting with India on a bilateral level. On August 31, Deepak Mittal, India's Ambassador to Qatar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Taliban Political Office's chief, met in Doha to discuss safety, security, and prompt return of Indian nationals stuck in Afghanistan for the first time.

Besides, Russia, India and Taliban representatives were expected to meet in the SAARC summit 2021, which was cancelled after no consensus was made on the participation of the Taliban as the representative of Afghanistan. This is the second time India will be entertaining the Taliban’s government as Afghanistan’s representatives.

India confirms participation at Moscow meeting

Earlier on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs revealed that India will participate in the Moscow format meeting that will be attended by Taliban representatives. India's participation is likely at the level of joint secretary. After the terrorist group seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, Indian representatives met with members of the outfit. 
 
The Moscow format meeting is scheduled for October 20. The Moscow format is based on a six-party structure for consultations between special representatives from Russia, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Iran, and India, and it was adopted in 2017. Russia's President Vladimir Putin has invited representatives of all the six nations.

Image: Twitter, AP