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No foreign prescription has solved Afghanistan’s problems, Muttaqi tells Moscow format meeting
The meeting of “Moscow Format” with the presence of the delegation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) and the representatives of the countries of the region started on Friday in the city of Kazan, Russia.
In the meeting, Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said that no foreign prescription has solved Afghanistan’s problems in the past 45 years.
Muttaqi said that Afghanistan is ready to interact positively with every country based on common legitimate interests, added that: “We hope that all countries will use this opportunity considering their national interests.”
He added: “Now more than ever, the opportunity for the implementation of the North-South Trade Corridor has been provided. It should also be important for countries in the region to know how to protect their interests and take advantage of the opportunities.”
In the meeting, the representatives of the neighboring countries also talked about Afghanistan and asked the United States to lift the sanctions on Afghanistan.
The special representative of China said that in the last two years, the Afghan government has taken important steps in the security, economic and social areas.
He also said that the United States should lift the sanctions against the people of Afghanistan.
“The travel ban of some Afghan government leaders should be lifted and they should be given the opportunity to participate in regional and international meetings,” he added.
The special representative of Uzbekistan said that it is very good that Afghanistan will become part of the “North-South Corridor”.
He said: “Big projects should be implemented in Afghanistan, including the Surkhan-Puli-Khumri power transmission, and other projects in order to fully revive the national economy of Afghanistan.”
He also welcomed the return of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to Afghanistan.
According to him, Western countries present a negative image of Afghanistan.
“We continue our interaction with Afghanistan and we agree with China that the representative of Afghanistan must be present in such meetings,” he said.
Talat Beg, the special representative of Kyrgyzstan, said: “The current government of Afghanistan has good achievements such as keeping the value of the currency stable, controlling inflation and fighting corruption. Kyrgyzstan hopes for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. We want friendly relations with Afghanistan.”
Representatives of neighboring countries asked other countries to interact with Afghanistan.
The special representative of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said that they want interaction and cooperation with Afghanistan.
“We sent our ambassador to Afghanistan a week ago. We must be present in Afghanistan. This shows that we want interaction and cooperation with Afghanistan. We want a peaceful and stable Afghanistan,” he said.
The special representative of India also said that they have maintained their assistance and relations with Afghanistan.
“We have invested about three billion dollars in Afghanistan and 35,000 students have entered Indian universities,” he said.
He also praised the Islamic Emirate’s fight against drugs and terrorism and added: “Our priority should be humanitarian aid.”
According to reports, representatives of ten countries, including China, Pakistan, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, participated in the recent meeting of Moscow format, and representatives of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Turkey participated as observer members.
The special representative of Russia for Afghanistan has said that there will be no one representing the United States at the Moscow format meeting.
Friday’s session is the fifth gathering of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan. It was created in 2017 on the basis of a six-party consultation mechanism of special representatives of Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, China, and Pakistan.
Its first meeting was held on April 14, 2017 with the participation of deputy ministers and special representatives of 11 countries, including the Afghan side.
The main goal is to promote the process of national reconciliation in Afghanistan and the early establishment of peace. The last, fourth meeting, was held in November 2022 in Moscow, without the participation of the Islamic Emirate.
Bilal Karimi, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate in Beijing, met on Thursday with Liu Jinsong, head of the Asian Department of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Yue Xiaoyong, China’s Special Representative for Afghanistan. The officials discussed political, economic, and commercial relations between the two countries, the activation of the Wakhan corridor, consular affairs, and other related issues.
According to a statement from the Embassy of Afghanistan in China, Karimi praised China’s positive stance toward Afghanistan and considered cooperation between the two countries necessary.
The statement added that Liu and Yue, while respecting Afghanistan’s independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty, also emphasized the continuation of cooperation.
Afghanistan has plunged deeper into a humanitarian crisis following sharp cuts to U.S. aid, with child hunger at its worst level in 25 years and nearly 450 health centers forced to close, the New York Times reported.
According to the report, U.S. funding — which averaged nearly $1 billion a year after the Islamic Emirate takeover in 2021 — has largely evaporated following the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under President Donald Trump.
The World Food Program (WFP) estimates that four million Afghan children are now at risk of dying from malnutrition.
The aid cuts have hit rural areas particularly hard, leaving families without access to basic health care. In Daikundi province, the closure of local clinics has been linked to preventable deaths during childbirth and rising child mortality.
Nationwide, more than 17 million Afghans — about 40 percent of the population — face acute food insecurity, with seven provinces nearing famine conditions, the report said.
The crisis has been compounded by mass deportations of Afghan refugees from Iran and Pakistan, deadly earthquakes, and ongoing drought. While other donors and Afghan authorities have tried to fill the gap, their efforts fall far short of previous U.S. assistance, the NYT reported.
Humanitarian groups warn the impact will be long-lasting. Researchers cited by the New York Times say sustained malnutrition could damage an entire generation, with consequences that cannot be reversed even if aid resumes in the future.
However, the spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, Zabihullah Mujahid, considers the findings of this report to be inaccurate and said that the situation in Afghanistan is not as dire as it is portrayed, and that the country’s situation is moving toward improvement.
“In our view, this report is not correct. We have gone through difficult times and experienced problems such as a humanitarian crisis. At one point, we suffered very heavy casualties and our people faced many difficulties, but now the situation of most people is improving. The country’s economy is moving in a positive direction, to some extent job opportunities have been created for unemployed people, efforts are still ongoing, and Afghanistan’s economic resources have been revived,” said Mujahid.
Ismatulla Irgashev, Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan for Afghanistan, met on Tuesday with Beibut Atamkulov, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan, to discuss bilateral cooperation on Afghanistan.
The two sides highlighted their commitment to maintaining regular dialogue aimed at addressing the Afghan issue, according to a statement issued by Uzbekistan foreign ministry.
Atamkulov praised Uzbekistan’s efforts to help shape a unified regional position on Afghanistan.
The meeting also included discussions on involving Afghanistan in regional connectivity initiatives, particularly the implementation of the Trans-Afghan railway project.
Officials described the meeting as constructive and reaffirmed mutual interest in further developing practical cooperation between Tashkent and Astana.
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