Beijing: China has invited the Taliban-led (under UN sanctions for terrorism) Afghan government to participate in the fifth meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, Afghan media reported, citing the foreign ministry.
At a Monday meeting, Chinese Special Representative for Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong told Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi that China views the bilateral relationship as positive, the Tolo News broadcaster reported.
“He [Yue] stated that his country respects the values and choices of the Afghan people. He also emphasized that the acting foreign minister of Afghanistan should attend the foreign ministers’ meeting of neighbor countries,” Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal was quoted as saying.
The date for the fifth foreign ministers’ meeting has not yet been announced. In the fourth meeting held in Samarkand in April 2023, Kabul was represented by the acting Afghan foreign minister.
The Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, toppling the US-backed government as US and NATO troops were withdrawing from the country after almost 20 years of military presence there. Numerous countries and international organizations responded to the militant takeover by cutting ties with Kabul.
