Tashkent Summit: Muttaqi urges the world to recognize IEA as new govt

Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs said in Tashkent on Tuesday that the Islamic Emirate will not allow the security of neighboring countries and the region to be threatened from Afghanistan’s territory.

Amir Khan Muttaqi outlined the achievements of the IEA in the past eleven months and called for positive political interaction with countries in the region and around the world.

In addition, he emphasized that the Islamic Emirate is pursuing economic and commercial cooperation and attracting foreign investment “with a balanced approach.”

“New government provided security in a short time in the country; it opened and activated security organs; it preserved the government’s fundamentals; it provided services for the citizens,” Muttaqi said.

According to him, the new government believes in political reforms and is committed to bringing changes in all sectors.

“We believe in political reforms and we are committed to bringing changes in all sectors of the government,” he added.

Furthermore, Muttaqi considers the Islamic Emirate to be committed to respecting the rights of all Afghan citizens, especially women, and emphasizes that dozens of high-ranking officials of the former government have returned to the country in recent weeks.

Moreover, the establishment of a 100,000-strong army, the formation of a 140,000-strong police force without external financial support, zero corruption in government offices, management of the economic and banking crisis, as well as the start of several large infrastructure projects, including the Kajaki Dam’s hydro-electric plant, are among the achievements of the IEA over the last 10 months – which Muttaqi presented at this conference.

“Undoubtedly, we are interested in legitimate demands of the world and we will respect it; but we will never accept foreigner’s culture because it cannot be implemented in our country and we urge the world to respect Afghans’ beliefs and convictions,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, IEA’s spokesman.

In the meantime, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West, Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights Rina Amiri, the deputy of the US Department of Finance, and the representative of the UN Secretary General in Afghanistan also participated at this international conference.

Representatives from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, India, as well as representatives from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan also attended.