Acting Minister of Education Habibullah Agha has left for Russia to participate in the the second international forum of education ministers in Kazan.

The Ministry of Education in a statement on Saturday said that in the forum, Agha will give a speech on the education situation in Afghanistan and the achievements, opportunities and problems in this sector.

The statement added that Agha will also meet with the education ministers of different countries.

The second international forum of education ministers, titled “Shaping the Future,” is scheduled to take place in Kazan from June 9 to 12.

Zakir Jalaly, Director of the Third Political Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, said on Saturday that the Islamic Emirate declined an invitation to a regional meeting that is scheduled to take place in Tehran.

Tehran has announced that it will host the meeting of the regional contact group for Afghanistan today (Saturday). Representatives of Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran are expected to attend the meeting.

Jalaly said on X that the Afghan government declined the invitation to the meeting. He said that the Afghan government expects that meetings on Afghanistan should be held through the existing mechanisms, not new ones.

He added that the Afghan government is engaged in discussions with relevant sides about the upcoming third Doha meeting.

Local officials in Badakhshan say that flash floods have left 50 dead and injured over the past month in 21 districts of the province.

Local officials said that 1,300 houses, 14 schools and thousands of acres of land have been destroyed.

They added that 6,700 livestock lost lives and that the roads from many villages in 21 districts of this province to the district center are still closed.

“We had approximately 13 to 14 schools in some districts that were destroyed by floods and 6,700 livestock were also lost,” said Mohammad Kamgar, head of Badakhshan Natural Disaster Management Department.

Kamgar added that after the survey, they have started the process of assisting the victims and have distributed emergency aid in coordination with relief agencies, which includes food and non-food items.

A number of victims, meanwhile, said that due to recent floods, they have lost all their means of life and are in serious need of help.

“If the problems of these people are not addressed, it is possible that they will not be able to connect their roads to their area for months. The roads are completely destroyed. The way they used to come for one hour, now they can’t come for three to four hours,” said Abdul Khaliq, a flood-affected individual.

In the meantime, some district officials ask for shelters to be created for the flood victims.

“Aid should be increased because the needs are greater. People have suffered a lot. Many people’s houses have been destroyed and their agricultural lands have also been destroyed,” said an official of Yamgan district.

Meanwhile, it’s been more than a month that the roads of dozens of villages to the center of Badakhshan districts are still closed, and people commute with difficulty.