International Consultations Involving Taliban Focuses On Economy And Fight Against Drugs

On Friday, September 29, international consultations were held in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan (Russia), where representatives of the Afghan Taliban government took part. At the center of the negotiations, which seamlessly continued and developed previous meetings of the so-called “Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan,” were the topics of restoring the country’s economy, regional economic cooperation, and the fight against drug trafficking.
In addition to Russia and representatives of the Taliban movement banned in Russia, the consultations were attended by representatives of 11 states of Central and East Asia and the Middle East, such as China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Central Asian republics of the former USSR, whose territories were targeted by Afghan drug traffickers. The first consultations on the situation in Afghanistan in the format proposed by the Kremlin took place in 2017.
The Russian delegation was headed by the Russian Special Representative for Afghanistan, with the rank of Ambassador, Zamir Kabulov. The interim Taliban government was represented by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The forum was opened by the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, who focused on the development of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan. “Entrepreneurs from Russia, as well as the business community of Tatarstan, are very interested in the speedy resumption of trade with Kabul, where a Russian business center was recently inaugurated. Many traditional Russian partners of Afghanistan – from the KAMAZ truck plant to the Tatneft oil company – are going to return to the Afghan market,” Minnikhanov emphasized.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov conveyed a message to the consultation participants, in which he stressed that the West must “recognize the tragic consequences” of its 20-year military presence in Afghanistan and take “full economic and financial responsibility” for the reconstruction of the country. “Western countries, which have inflicted irreparable damage on the Afghan people, must take the main burden of post-conflict reconstruction of the country,” Lavrov emphasized. “In this regard, Washington’s blocking of Afghan banking assets is counterproductive and only aggravates the situation, complicating the already difficult living conditions of ordinary Afghans.”
For Russia, the creation of an inclusive ethno-political government in Afghanistan could become the basis for Russia’s recognition of the power of the Taliban.
Afghan Foreign Minister Muttaqi did not agree with the Russian thesis about an inclusive government. Over the past 45 years, no external model of governance in Afghanistan, particularly an inclusive government, has solved the country’s problems. “We hope that our neighbors will refrain from proposing a governance model and instead focus on integrating Afghanistan in all areas so that we can develop our cooperation,” he said.
Now that “the occupation of Afghanistan is over and security has been restored,” the time has come to organize regional connectivity projects, Muttaqi said. “Afghanistan has strong potential for economic cooperation,” he said, adding that the country is “ready to provide all infrastructure conditions” for projects in the energy sector, agriculture, and railway routes.
China said it shared the Taliban’s position. The key to peace, stability, and reconstruction of Afghanistan “will be constructive international cooperation at the regional level without foreign interference in the internal affairs of our countries,” said Yue Xiaoyong, special representative of the Chinese Foreign Ministry for Afghanistan. “When talking about all these issues, we must remember that nothing can justify interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign and independent country. Decisions on an ‘inclusive’ government and the human rights situation must be made by the sovereign government of Afghanistan,” the Chinese representative emphasized, according to whom “the international community should discuss the problems of Afghanistan in the presence of representatives of this country.”