KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Kazakhstan has accepted the credentials of Muhammad Ur Rehman Rahmani, the Taliban-appointed Charge d’Affaires, calling the move essential for maintaining peace and security in the region.
In a statement on Wednesday, August 21, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan announced the development.
According to the statement, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alibek Bakayev, accredited the Taliban Charge d’Affaires and emphasized the importance of expanding trade and economic ties between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan.
“Active involvement of Afghanistan into regional relations creates additional conditions for restoring the country’s economy and social stability by improving the situation of the Afghan people, as well as maintaining peace and security in the region,” part of the statement reads.
Since their takeover of Afghanistan, no country has officially recognized the ruling regime. However, many neighboring and regional countries have kept their embassies operational in Kabul and have handed over the Afghan embassies in their capitals to the Taliban.
Kazakhstan is one of the countries that has maintained diplomatic ties with the Taliban over the past three years and has expanded trade and economic relations with the regime.
Two months ago, Kazakhstan removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations, a designation it had held since 2005, arguing that this step is crucial for enhancing trade and economic cooperation.
Last year, the country’s private sector signed over a $100 million trade deal with Afghanistan’s private sector, focusing on irrigation management, technology, and logistics sectors.
Kazakhstan is not the only country in the region to accept a Taliban-appointed diplomat. Similarly, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also recently accepted the credentials of the Taliban-appointed ambassador.
In a statement yesterday, the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Saif Abdullah Al Shamsi, Director of Protocol at the UAE foreign ministry, received the credentials of the Taliban-appointed ambassador, Badruddin Haqqani.
Until these recent developments, China was the only country to have officially accepted the letter of credence from the Taliban-appointed ambassador. China has also appointed a new ambassador to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
