Politics extremely important, but economy also needs to function: EU’s Afghanistan envoy

Politics is extremely important, but the economy also needs to function, the EU’s special representative to Afghanistan, Tomas Niklasson, has said.

Speaking in an interview with Ariana News on Thursday, Niklasson said that people struggle hard to survive and there is great uncertainty about the economic future.

He said that the interim government in Afghanistan needs to get the economy going.

“It needs to attract foreign investment and for that there is need for legal certainty. There is also need for the central bank to be fully independent which would allow gradually the banking system to re-establish itself and get functioning,” Niklasson said.

The diplomat said that the conflict has ended in Afghanistan and Afghans welcome that. “But the future of the interim government and the future of Afghanistan will depend on a dialogue, will depend on inclusive form of governance and will depend on respect for human rights.”

Niklasson also said that many Afghans say that the new interim government is “less corrupt than the previous one.”

EU has been engaging with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) and has a physical presence in the country, but it has repeatedly said that their engagement doesn’t mean it recognizes IEA as a legitimate government.

“The Europeans worry that if Afghanistan collapses, there will be refugee flows toward them. They are very concerned about that. I think they are also pressuring the United States to engage with the Islamic Emirate,” said Abdul Wahid Faqiri, an expert on international relations.

EU officials have said that recognition of the new government in Afghanistan will depend on its fulfilling of the international community’s conditions. IEA has said that it has already met the conditions for recognition.