Amir Khan Muttaqi, the interim Afghan Foreign Minister in the government formed by the Taliban (banned in Russia), has called for constructive engagement with regional partners to mitigate existing security threats and stimulate economic growth for all parties interested in region-centric cooperation. This was announced at the Afghanistan Regional Cooperation Initiative summit on Monday.
As reported by ToloNews, Muttaqi suggested that regional cooperation could concentrate on "exploring region-centric engagement strategies based on shared benefits; adopting a region-centric approach to interact positively and constructively with Afghan authorities to tackle existing and potential threats to regional security; fostering mutually beneficial economic cooperation among regional nations; achieving unity on the necessity to lift unilateral sanctions on the entire region; and the requirement for the Afghan Foreign Ministry's support to the region as a whole."
During his tenure, the Taliban regime has established strong relationships on trade and transit with partners in the region, including neighboring countries, according to Muttaqi.
The Afghan foreign minister underscored the importance of regional security to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and expressed the country's readiness to collaborate with regional partners based on mutual interests and respect.
The Kabul meeting was attended by representatives from Russia, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Indonesia.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Vladimir Varfolomeev/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS