Key Takeaways
- The Afghan acting foreign minister appealed to the U.S. to lift sanctions.
- The delegation, including the Da Afghanistan Bank, met in Doha to discuss economic relief.
- Sanctions have frozen Afghan assets, worsening the nation’s poverty.
Kabul: Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told U.S. officials at a meeting in Doha.
He urged that the U.S. sanctions against Afghanistan be removed, according to Tolonews TV.
The Afghan media quoted the caretaker government’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid as saying on Monday evening that Muttaqi also urged the U.S. side not to create obstacles to the economic development of Afghanistan.
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Twitter Monday that the Afghan delegation was led by Muttaqi and comprised representatives from the country’s central bank Da Afghanistan Bank, the Ministry of Finance, as well as officials from the Afghan embassy in Doha.
The Afghan delegation left Kabul on Saturday for Qatar to meet with U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West.
Following the abrupt withdrawal of U.S.-led forces in August 2021, Washington has imposed sanctions on the impoverished country, seizing Afghan assets and compounding the poverty brought by 20 years of foreign occupation.
