The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Amir Khan Muttaqi, said Wednesday that Afghanistan is a free and independent nation and its internal and external policies are not affected by any country.

In an interview with India’s Strat News Global in Kabul, Muttaqi said that no country has any influence over the government of Afghanistan and that it makes all its decisions independently.

The foreign minister emphasized that the Islamic Emirate wants good diplomatic relations with the United States. He said Kabul has maintained contact for diplomatic interaction with the US.

“Afghanistan makes its own decisions and makes its own policies,” said Muttaqi adding that “Afghanistan is an independent and free country and is not influenced by any country, it makes every decision in the field of its foreign policy.”

Muttaqi also said the Islamic Emirate wants diplomatic relations with all countries in the world.

According to the foreign minister, Kabul has maintained contact with Washington and hopes that relations with America will improve in the future.

Muttaqi also reassured India on the safety of its diplomats in Kabul and called on Delhi to strengthen relations with the Islamic Emirate.

“Afghanistan is now an independent and sovereign government, a government that has complete control over its borders and territory and does not allow anyone to direct threats against the country; sending diplomats from India to Afghanistan, accepting our diplomats at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi and the start of issuing visas to Afghans, as well as the start of business relations, is a great development in our interactions. We want to strengthen and develop relations with India, diplomatic places are a good bridge between us and the Indian authorities,” Muttaqi added.

At the same time, on the one-year anniversary of the US and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, senior US military and defense officials say that they will continue the fight against terrorism not only in Afghanistan but in other parts of the world.

“Today marks exactly one year since the end of the 20-year war and the withdrawal of our military forces from Afghanistan. We are proud of the professional performance of our forces in twenty years of war in Afghanistan and the cooperation of NATO and our other partners and allies, the war in Afghanistan is over but the fight continues.

“We will continue the fight against terrorism, we will use our special war capabilities in this direction,” said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

“All our forces, including the combat, naval, air, special forces and other military forces, should be proud to serve in Afghanistan to protect their country against terrorist attacks, but the battle continues, we will use our capabilities over the horizon not only in Afghanistan but in other parts of the world. Terrorists around the world should know that we will come after them,” said Mark Milley, the US Chief of Staff.