The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has accepted the credentials of a Taliban-appointed diplomat as ambassador to Afghanistan, an Emirati official said on Thursday, making the Gulf state only the second country after China to host a Taliban envoy at that level.
Taliban diplomats have controlled Afghanistan’s Abu Dhabi embassy and Dubai consulate since at least last year, but they do not appear to be officially recognised as Afghan diplomats, foreign diplomats said.
A UAE official told Reuters that accepting the “Afghan ambassador’s credentials” reaffirmed the Gulf state’s commitment to building bridges and supporting the Afghan people, including through development and reconstruction projects.
The official did not say whether the UAE, one of three countries that recognised the Taliban’s 1996-2001 regime, had now recognised the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government.
No government has formally recognised the Taliban since it returned to power three years ago, and until now only Beijing has formally accepted its ambassador’s credentials.
However, Taliban appointees run diplomatic missions in several countries, including neighboring Pakistan.Taliban fighters celebrate the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul on a street near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023. (Photo by REUTERS/ALI KHARA)
The Taliban-led Foreign Ministry announced in a statement late on Wednesday that Mawlawi Badreddin Haqqani had been designated as the ministry’s ambassador and had submitted his letters of credentials to the UAE’s Assistant Minister for Protocol at the Foreign Ministry.
“The newly appointed Afghan ambassador will formally present his letters of credentials to the emir of the UAE in an official ceremony,” the ministry said.
Taliban-United Arab Emirates relations
The Taliban have economic ties with the UAE, which was awarded a contract to operate Kabul airport in 2022. Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who has been designated a “specially designated global terrorist” by the United States, met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi in June.
The Taliban entered the Afghan capital on August 15, 2021, as Afghan security forces established with years of Western support collapsed and U.S.-backed President Ashraf Ghani fled. UAE forces have fought alongside U.S.-led forces in the two-decade war that ousted the Taliban in 2001.
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China and the UAE have not formally recognised the Taliban government or seen any official change in relations, but diplomats and international analysts say officially hosting an ambassador is a grey area of international diplomacy and could lead to closer ties.
Many governments, particularly in the West, including Washington, say the Taliban’s path to formal recognition will be closed unless they reverse course on women’s rights and reopen high school and university to girls and women.
The Taliban say they respect rights according to their interpretation of Islamic law and that a lack of regulation and approval of the banking sector is hindering the economy.