The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday in a statement that the participation of the Islamic Emirate at the Doha meeting would be “unbeneficial.”

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believed that the meeting of Special Envoys for Afghanistan being convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in the capital of Qatar, Doha, was a good opportunity to hold frank and productive dialogue on issues of disagreement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified to the UN that if the Islamic Emirate is to participate as the sole official representative of Afghanistan and if there exists an opportunity to hold frank talks between the Afghan delegation and the UN about all issues on a very senior level, then participation would be beneficial. Else, ineffective participation by the Emirate due to non-progress in this area was deemed unbeneficial,” the statement reads.

“It should be noted that if the UN takes stock of current realities, rebuffs influence and pressure by a few parties, and takes into consideration the fact that unlike the previous twenty-year regime, this government of Afghanistan cannot be coerced by anyone, then there exists possibility of achieving progress in talks with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The two and half year engagement between the Islamic Emirate and regional countries has demonstrated that if repetition of failed twenty-year experimentation is discarded, and a realistic and pragmatic approach is adopted over unilateral impositions, accusations and pressurization, then progress can also be made in bilateral relations with other parties,” the statement added.

The “Afghan Invest” company officials say they have signed two huge project contracts with the Islamic Emirate in which tens of millions of dollars will be invested in both projects.

The transfer of 500 KV line from the north to the center and the extraction of lead mine in Tulak district of Ghor province are these two big projects, the company officials said.

They stated that preliminary work on these two projects has been started.

Shirbaz Kaminzada, head of Afghan Invest, stated that he has contracted with a Chinese company to purchase the necessary line for the transmission of 500 KV electricity from Sheberghan to the center, which will reach Afghanistan soon.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce Spokesman Abdul Salam Jawad Akhundzada meanwhile said that efforts are underway to provide more investment facilities for investors in the country because there is a high capacity for investment inside Afghanistan.

“The Ministry of Industry and Commerce provides all facilities to all domestic and foreign investors who want to invest in Afghanistan,” said Akhundzada.

“We ensure that we provide all facilities for distributing licenses for investment and import of raw materials and machinery,” he added.

According to economic experts, if the government facilitates investment in the country, Afghanistan can accept billions of dollars of investment.

Experts also added that the start of the official engagement of IEA with the world and the complete end of banking sanctions on Afghanistan will open a new window for investing billions of dollars in the country.

A United Nations study revealed Friday that approximately two-thirds (67%) of women in Afghanistan fear the rights crisis would intensify if the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) is recognized by the international community.

“Women expressed dread and anxiety when asked to consider the possibility of international recognition of the DFA (de facto authorities),” according to the report jointly prepared by U.N. Women, the International Organization for Migration, and the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

“Under the current circumstances, it could exacerbate the women’s rights crisis and increase the risk that the DFA would reinforce and expand existing restrictions targeting women and girls,” the report said.

The findings are based on interviews the U.N. agencies conducted online and in-person with 745 women across the 34 Afghan provinces between January 27 and February 8.

The U.N. report said that women requested the international community not to recognize the IEA unless they reverse the restrictions.

The interviewees stated that the best way for the world to improve the rights situation in Afghanistan was to link international aid “to better conditions for women, and to facilitate opportunities for women to talk directly with the Taliban (IEA).”

Amnesty International also demanded Friday that the Doha meeting must mark an end to impunity for human rights abuse under the IEA.

The watchdog group noted in its statement that “discriminatory restrictions on the rights of women and girls, with the apparent aim of completely erasing them from public arenas” have intensified in recent months.

IEA spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that the United Nations is not following its principles over the issue of recognizing the Afghan government.

“The issue of recognition also has its own principles in international laws. Interviews with a few people cannot be used as a criterion for recognizing or not recognizing a government. Unfortunately, the United Nations, without considering its own principles, is dealing differently with Afghanistan in this regard, and it is putting pressure from all sides,” Mujahid said.

He added that UN is used as a tool by some powerful countries.

The UN report on women comes ahead of Sunday’s UN-convened conference in Qatar, where member states and regional organizations’ special envoys on Afghanistan will discuss the global engagement approach with the IEA.