Senior officials from Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries gathered in Tehran for a one-day meeting to discuss the situation in the Taliban-run country.
Iran’s, Pakistan’s, Tajikistan’s, Uzbekistan’s, and Turkmenistan’s foreign ministers will meet in Tehran on Wednesday, with their Chinese and Russian counterparts joining them by video link.
The meeting will be opened by Ebrahim Raisi, the newly elected Iranian president, who has made connecting with the region a primary priority in his foreign policy. Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with each foreign minister separately on Tuesday.
The event’s goal, according to the Iranian foreign ministry, was to create a united front among neighbours in support of the installation of a “inclusive” administration in Afghanistan.
The meeting’s other key objectives include controlling refugee flows following the Taliban’s takeover of the country in August, safeguarding Afghanistan’s economic security, and combating “radicalism,” according to the statement.
The talks come after a virtual gathering of foreign ministers hosted by Pakistan in early September.
Iran’s attitude
Even after the Taliban declared the formation of an administration that excludes ethnic and religious groups, as well as women, Iran has maintained its public position calling for a “inclusive” government in Afghanistan.
Iran’s foreign ministry also strongly criticised the Taliban’s armed attack on opposition fighters in the Panjshir Valley, as well as a series of recent deadly explosives in Afghanistan claimed by the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K).
Tehran conducted intra-Afghan discussions earlier this year, which included the Taliban, before to the withdrawal of US-led foreign soldiers from Afghanistan in August.
Iran claims to be in daily communication with all parties in Afghanistan, including the Taliban.
According to a Taliban trade official, the organisation is keen to acquire oil from Iran and expects that its western neighbour would approve the request to ease Afghanistan’s fuel shortages.
