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OIC chief says coordinated, strategic approach needed for Afghanistan
Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha said on Tuesday there was a pressing need for a “well-coordinated and strategically integrated approach to the wide range of challenges facing Afghanistan and its people”.
In a statement to delegates at the Tashkent International Conference on Afghanistan: Security and Economic Development, which was read out by IOC special envoy to Afghanistan Tarig Ali Bakhiet, Taha said such an approach would only be feasible though pursuing sustained and constructive engagement with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).
Taha also called on multilateral aid, development, and humanitarian organizations to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan’s vulnerable communities.
He encouraged OIC Member States, world countries, and international as well as regional organizations to consider making contributions to the OIC Trust Fund for Afghanistan.
“The larger the support to the Trust Fund, the wider the scope of assistance projects will be, and subsequently greater segments of Afghan society would benefit from such assistance programs,” he said.
Taha indicated that the ultimate objective lies in promoting the realization and enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms by all Afghan citizens in a secure, stable and economically thriving environment.
Tomas Niklasson, the Special Envoy of the European Union for Afghanistan, meanwhile issued a short statement after Tuesday’s meeting and said he “underlined the lack of a recognised Afghan government and the need for inclusive governance where all Afghan women and men have a say and where different political factions and ethnic and sectarian groups are represented.”
Special Envoy on Afghan Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China Yue Xiaoyong also addressed the meeting and noted that the situation in Afghanistan directly affects security and stability around the world.
Yue stressed that to date, 72 percent of the population of Afghanistan lives below the poverty line, while the unemployment rate is 40 percent.
“China is doing everything possible to improve the situation in Afghanistan,” he said.
“For example, China provided 15 million yuan to mitigate the effects of the recent earthquake. Moreover, we continue importing agricultural products from Afghanistan.”
Yue urged the global community to continue building multilateral coordination and cooperation regarding the situation in Afghanistan.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has called a United Nations report on Afghan opiates “tailor-made political propaganda” saying such publications do not help combat drug trafficking in Afghanistan.
The ministry said that the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, published in late October, recorded an increase in the cultivation, production and distribution of Afghan opiates for the first time since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) imposed a ban in 2022.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the report, which the IEA has already rejected as politically motivated, appears unbalanced and relies on indirect evidence, including satellite images that are open to different expert interpretations.
According to UN estimates cited in the report, the area under poppy cultivation increased from 10,200 hectares in 2025 to 43,300 hectares in 2026, while opium production rose from 300 tonnes to 1,470 tonnes.
The ministry acknowledged that Afghanistan’s drug problem still exists and said authorities in Kabul are aware of the issue. It added that Afghan security forces conduct almost daily operations in various parts of the country to destroy drug laboratories and seize narcotics.
According to the statement, more than 7.4 tonnes of various narcotics and over 4.7 tonnes of precursor chemicals were seized in Afghanistan over the past week, while two drug laboratories were dismantled.
Cooperation between the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment and the Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce has paved the way for exporting potatoes from Bamyan province to the Uzbek market.
In this regard, Sayed Karim Hashemi, President of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, and Doran Vahabov, President of the Uzbekistan Chamber of Commerce, have agreed on the export of 100,000 tons of Bamyan potatoes to Uzbekistan. Work is underway to finalize the export agreement.
Meanwhile, the first shipment of potatoes, consisting of eight trucks, has departed for the Uzbek city of Termez through the Hairatan Port.
The chambers of commerce of both countries, in cooperation with local authorities in Bamyan, have facilitated connections between traders and farmers and coordinated the purchasing, marketing, and transportation of the produce. This initiative is expected to expand market opportunities for Bamyan farmers and strengthen trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.
Afghanistan’s Prime Minister, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk in Kabul on Thursday evening, emphasizing the need to strengthen bilateral relations and expand economic cooperation between the two countries.
According to a statement from the Presidential Palace, several senior officials from both countries attended the meeting, including Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and representatives of Russia’s political and economic sectors.
Akhund described Afghanistan’s security and stability as favourable conditions for foreign investment and thanked Moscow for recognizing the Islamic Emirate and supporting Afghanistan in international forums.
Meanwhile, Overchuk praised the security situation and developments in Afghanistan, expressing Russia’s interest in investing in various sectors of the country.
He said around 70 representatives of Russia’s private sector were accompanying the delegation and were expected to hold discussions with relevant ministries and institutions of the Islamic Emirate on trade and investment agreements, as well as ways to address existing obstacles.
The Russian deputy prime minister reaffirmed his country’s support for Afghanistan in various fields.
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