New UNAMA head takes up post, meets with IEA’s senior officials

Mawlavi Abdulsalam Hanafi, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) acting deputy prime minister, on Wednesday met with Markus Potzel, the new head of the United Nations Assistance Mission (UNAMA) in Kabul.

At the meeting, Hanafi wished Potzel well in his new position and said: “Since you have enough experience in Afghanistan, you can be a good partner for the Afghan nation in all fields.”

Potzel in turn said he was happy to be back in Afghanistan and stated that the United Nations is a strong supporter of Afghanistan and that the UN is trying to reduce and alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people through humanitarian aid and other humanitarian activities.

Potzel also met with Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and briefed him about his mission in Afghanistan.

Muttaqi said he hoped the new head of UNAMA would do a good job and said he expects UNAMA to play a positive role in terms of strengthening interaction between Afghanistan and the world.

Muttaqi reiterated that the IEA should not be judged on “the baseless allegations of the biased circles”. He said that with the advent of the new government, the situation has improved and that local and international organizations can carry out their mission more efficiently and transparently.