Abdulbari Omar, head of Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority (AFDA) said on Monday his trip to Europe was legitimate and apolitical.

Omar’s visit to Europe stirred controversy after he appeared at a mosque in Cologne in Germany, addressing an audience largely made up of Afghan expatriates. Germany launched an investigation into the trip.

Omar said at a press conference in Kabul that during this trip he participated in a conference in Netherlands about regional products, and presented the real image of Afghanistan on behalf of the Islamic Emirate.

“It was a conference full of achievements and a very important one. The most important issue is that the presence of the Islamic Emirate in such a conference was very valuable for us. Secondly, we met with representatives of many countries there. Representatives and ministers of more than a hundred countries attended this conference,” Omar said.

Omar added that during his trip he met representatives of European, Asian and African countries, and the private sector of some countries promised to invest in Afghanistan.

“We told them that many facilities have been created in Afghanistan by various institutions and that the people of Afghanistan are interested in domestic production and want investment in this field. The representatives of the private sector showed interest in this regard and noted down my email address and contact number and promised to send a delegation to Afghanistan to closely assess the situation. They promised that they will invest in Afghanistan,” Omar said.

He said that despite the sanctions and restrictions, Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority has made great progress compared to the past 20 years and currently 600 medicines are produced in the country and more than 58 pharmaceutical factories are operating.

Omar said that during his trip to Europe, he also met members of the Afghan diaspora and encouraged them to return and live in their country.