IEA officials meet German, Dutch diplomats

Afghanistan’s first and second deputy prime minister’s met with German and Dutch diplomats in Kabul on Thursday, and Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) spokesman said.

“The deputies of Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar today before noon met with representatives of the Netherlands and Germany and delegates accompanying them at the presidential palace,” said Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman for the IEA in a series of tweets.

According to Samangani, the Afghan officials discussed bilateral relations with the German and Dutch envoys.

Baradar once again stressed the need to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and said these “belong to the people of Afghanistan and we want the international community to pay attention to the economic challenges in Afghanistan.”

Markus Potzel, the German envoy, reiterated his country’s continued humanitarian support to Afghanistan and said Germany would provide 600 million euros worth of aid to Afghanistan.

Samangan said on Twitter: “We will not allow anyone to use Afghanistan’s soil against the region and the world. We will make efforts to prevent the cultivation and smuggling of opium and we are trying to provide alternative economic schemes in cooperation with the international community for the farmers.”