China accepts Afghan diplomats appointed by IEA

China has accredited diplomats appointed by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to the Afghan embassy in Beijing, IEA’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has said.

Muttaqi made the announcement after China hosted multinational meetings on Afghanistan last week.

“We thank China for its economic assistance to Afghanistan. We appreciate China’s facilitation of importing Afghan products. It has accepted our diplomats in the Afghanistan embassy in China,” Muttaqi told reporters in China.

“These are efforts which signify China’s good intentions,” Muttaqi said.

IEA took control of Afghanistan in August last year, but it is yet to be recognized by the international community as the official government of the country.

Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow had accredited the first diplomat from IEA-led Afghanistan.

In his comments to reporters, Muttaqi also said that after decades of war, Afghanistan has now become secure and there are opportunities for economic rehabilitation.

“Central Asia and South Asia could be connected through Afghanistan,” Muttaqi said as he reiterated calls for foreign investment in the country.

On Daesh, Muttaqi said that IEA has contained the group and is controlling the borders.

“For the past four months, Daesh has not been able to carry out any attack in Afghanistan,” Muttaqi said. “We can now say that Afghanistan is a secure country and we are abiding by our commitment to the world that Afghanistan soil will not be used against anyone.”