Exclusive | Not war, nations talk about Afghanistan's growth now: Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi

The annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit is taking place in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, with the participation of regional foreign ministers. Eight countries make up the alliance, including Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and Central Asian countries. It strives to advance political, commercial, and economic co-operation while upholding regional security and stability.

During the summit, WION conducted an exclusive interview with Afghanistan's Taliban government's foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi. Below are the significant portions of that interview.

WION: It's been almost a year since the Taliban took power; what challenges does your government now face?

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Amir Khan Muttaqi: We have dealt with many challenges over the years, and most of them have been addressed. The law and order situations in Afghanistan have improved now, and the foundations of the country’s economy are also improving day by day. Political ties with neighbouring, regional countries and the international community are improving gradually. So, the major challenges that we’re facing have been reframed to a greater extent.

However, Afghanistan has come out of a four-decade-long conflict. There are still many challenges, including the economy, and we’re hopeful of finding a solution to the remaining challenges too. I’m optimistic that with the level of progress that we’re making, we will be able to deal with the remaining challenges and find a good future.

WION: You are here in Tashkent for the Afghan conference. There are two pressing issues in the international community. One is recognition of your government and the second is girls' education. When can we see both things happen?

Amir Khan Muttaqi: The Tashkent conference was a positive moot. Around 35 countries participated in the conference, and most of them were very positive in their talks, except for one or two who were negative. The participants got to know the facts, and it’s very important that they know the real facts about Afghanistan. It has been instrumental in addressing all those perceptions being propagated about us by our opponents and enemies towards the rest of the world. After getting the facts, they now have the real picture of Afghanistan in their minds, and all have emphasised the need for the start of the major economic activities, especially the railway track from Uzbekistan to Pakistan.

And other projects, such as Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI). These were the issues discussed, and we’re also given hope that now, instead of discussing wars, ceasefires, and dialogue, we are talking about economic issues, development, progress, and having good ties with the region. We take all this positively.

On girls' education

We are aware that now in Afghanistan we have around 10 million students. Earlier, education was available in around 35 percent of the areas, and now we have reached 100 percent. We have 141 special education centres and 29 others that are functional. We have around 0.45 million students in these educational centres. So, we are making good progress in the education sector, and we hope to make more improvements in the future.

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