Riyaz ul Khaliq
07 October 2021•Update: 07 October 2021
ANKARA
Uzbekistan’s foreign minister arrived in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Thursday for discussions with Taliban officials.
Abdulaziz Kamilov and his accompanying delegation met the Taliban’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who assured the top Uzbek diplomat “of normalization of the situation following the latest developments in Afghanistan,” according to Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesman for the Taliban’s interim Foreign Ministry.
Kamilov is the second foreign minister to visit Kabul since the Taliban swept to power on Aug. 15, after Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.
“Kamilov said he is happy to see the streets clean, city work managed, people out and about, and a secure atmosphere,” Balkhi said on Twitter.
The Uzbek minister stressed that his country “had always focused on mutual interests of both countries and Uzbekistan’s foreign policy towards Afghanistan was not tied to other issues.”
Uzbekistan, which shares a 144-kilometer (90 miles) border with Afghanistan, last month welcomed the formation of the interim Taliban government. Afghanistan is also home to an Uzbek minority.
Kamilov also hoped that the interim Taliban government “would soon find a strong place in the international community,” Balkhi added.
“[He] assured that Uzbekistan remains committed to its pledges in transit, energy, and trade,” the Taliban official said.
