Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate, held a telephone conversation with Rosemary DiCarlo, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the discussion covered assistance to victims of the recent earthquake in the country and returning migrants, the situation in Afghanistan and the region, humanitarian cooperation, the economic situation, counter-narcotics efforts, and working groups related to the private sector.

Muttaqi thanked DiCarlo for her sympathy and assistance to the earthquake victims, and noted that although more than two million migrants returned to Afghanistan over the past year, the Islamic Emirate managed their return in an appropriate manner.

Referring to the issue of refugees, Muttaqi said that humanitarian matters should not be tied to politics, but unfortunately this is often the case in practice.

He assured that Afghanistan is moving in a positive direction in the political, security, administrative, and economic sectors, and that with the exception of one country—Afghanistan’s relations with regional and neighboring countries have expanded and continue to improve.

Regarding the work of UN agencies and the two working groups on “supporting the private sector” and “counter-narcotics,” the Foreign Minister said that IEA has provided suitable conditions for international organizations to operate and has enabled their access to all parts of the country; however, he added that UN agencies still need to carry out more practical work in this area.

Rosemary DiCarlo thanked him for the opportunity for the telephone conversation and for the information provided, and emphasized that proper and humane conditions must be ensured for returning migrants.

She added that they are actively engaging with various parties to provide assistance to earthquake victims and returning migrants, and praised IEA for its effective management of the returnees and its successful counter-narcotics efforts.

She assured that the Office of the UN Secretary-General has not halted its efforts to increase political engagement with Afghanistan through member states and relevant partners.

In the conversation, DiCarlo also called for greater cooperation by IEA with the staff of UN agencies in Afghanistan.