Afghanistan: The Taliban Delegation Reaches Geneva to Develop Diplomatic Relations and talk with NGOs

Afghanistan: The Taliban Delegation Reaches Geneva to Develop Diplomatic Relations and talk with NGOs

Switzerland Foreign Ministry on Tuesday informed that the Taliban delegation is in Geneva for talks with Swiss officials and NGOs on humanitarian access and human rights.

A foreign ministry spokeswoman said, “The members of the delegation will have discussions around humanitarian access to the population in need, the protection of humanitarian actors, and respect for human rights.”

The spokeswoman said the Swiss ministry representatives would meet the delegation this week. However, she stressed that their delegation’s presence on Swiss territory “does not represent a legitimization or recognition of the Taliban”.

Afghanistan has plunged into financial chaos, with the surge of inflation and unemployment. The halt of aid following the Taliban’s takeover has triggered a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, been already devastated by decades of war.

In his first interview since returning from talks with Western powers in Oslo, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi urged Washington to unlock Afghanistan’s assets to help ease the humanitarian crisis. No country has formally recognized the government installed after the Taliban seized power.

But Muttaqi told the media that Afghanistan’s new rulers were slowly gaining international acceptance. “On the process of getting recognition – we have come closer to that goal,” he added. Switzerland’s news agency reported that the delegation was being led by Latifullah Hakimi and numbers around 10 people.

(_Vinayak)