The European Union has announced an additional €15 million in funding for its ongoing partnership with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to strengthen food security and climate resilience in Afghanistan.

The funding will support efforts to address food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty and the impacts of climate change by combining school feeding, climate-resilient livelihoods, sustainable natural resource management and private-sector development in agribusiness.

Eric Beaume, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation, said the contribution reflects the EU’s continued commitment to Afghan communities, particularly women, children and vulnerable rural families.

He said the investment in agribusiness, food value chains and school feeding will help improve nutrition, protect livelihoods and strengthen the economic resilience of vulnerable communities.

The additional funding will extend the programme for 12 months, with a greater focus on agribusiness, food safety and quality, while school feeding and climate-resilience activities will continue.

John Aylieff, WFP Representative and Country Director in Afghanistan, welcomed the EU’s support, saying it would help strengthen livelihoods, improve local food systems and create more opportunities for women and young people.

The EU said the new funding builds on its long-standing support for resilience and school feeding programmes in Afghanistan and aims to strengthen the local private sector through local procurement and stronger links with humanitarian programmes.

The Islamic Emirate says pressure from the United States on the United Nations and some countries has hindered formal recognition of its government in Afghanistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, told Ariana News on Monday that Washington is pressuring the UN and several countries to refrain from formal engagement with Kabul.

“They may not say it openly or have announced it, but overall it appears that pressure is being put on the United Nations and some other countries, preventing them from engaging with us. Otherwise, engagement should have taken place by now,” Mujahid said.

He said some countries remain under the influence of major global powers, preventing them from making further progress in their relations with the Islamic Emirate.

“Countries that were at war or in conflict with us, or some countries that are still under the influence of those major powers, naturally have not been able to make progress in engagement. The blame does not lie with Afghanistan, and their policies have not changed since the war,” he said.

Meanwhile, analysts say the United States continues to have significant influence over the foreign policies of many countries. They argue that unless Washington changes its approach toward the Islamic Emirate, further progress toward formal recognition is likely to remain difficult.

The Islamic Emirate, however, says its foreign policy is focused on economic interests and that Kabul seeks to expand relations with all countries.

Mehmood Khan Achakzai, chairman of Pakistan’s Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and opposition leader in the National Assembly, said Afghanistan continues to be viewed mainly through a security lens in regional forums.

Speaking at the opening session of a three-day public jirga in Southern Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, Achakzai said Afghan people were not adequately represented in discussions about their country, including at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

He said blaming Afghanistan alone for regional security challenges ignored the country’s history of decades of conflict, foreign interventions and proxy rivalries involving major and regional powers.

Achakzai also said the powers and proxies involved during the Cold War bear historical responsibility for the destruction of Afghanistan.