On 17 January 2023, Afghan Acting Minister of Interior Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani met with members of the European Union delegation to Afghanistan. The meeting agenda included discussions on the EU’s humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and promoting the safety of its aid workers in the country. Through mechanisms such as these, the Taliban has managed to conduct the country’s foreign affairs; by participating in multilateral summits, attending high-level diplomatic visits, and accepting foreign investment opportunities from its economic partners without receiving official recognition from any country.

While the slew of diplomatic and economic engagements with the Taliban could suggest that some countries — in particular Afghanistan’s neighbors — are readying to officially recognize the group, it is more likely that simply maintaining an active presence in Afghanistan best serves the foreign policy, security, and economic agendas of these countries. During the September 2021 Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan outlined three prerequisites for official recognition of the Taliban regime, including establishing an inclusive government, recognizing human rights, and preventing violence from spilling over the border. Over a year later, violent spats along the shared border with Pakistan, a breakdown in human rights nationwide, and terrorist groups actively operating within the country have hampered the Taliban’s aspirations to gain formal recognition even from neighboring states.

International recognition would grant the Taliban legitimacy to continue its rule over Afghanistan and could remove diplomatic barriers to attracting much-needed finance and investment deals from abroad. However, as the security and humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan continue to deteriorate, the Taliban has a much more difficult task convincing the international community to extend formal recognition to its regime.

Read the full article from 9DashLine here.