NEW DELHI: India was amongst 10 regional international locations that participated in a gathering of diplomatic representatives convened by the Taliban setup in Kabul on Monday, reflecting the rising engagement with a regime that isn’t formally recognised by New Delhi.

The Regional Cooperation Initiative assembly, which was addressed by Taliban performing overseas minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, was additionally attended by diplomats from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Indonesia. Russia was represented by its particular consultant for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov.

There was no official phrase from Indian officers on the assembly, which got here days after the Indian Indian embassy within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) invited the performing Afghan envoy Badruddin Haqqani to the Republic Day celebrations in Abu Dhabi.

Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesman of the Taliban overseas ministry, quoted the Indian consultant who attended the assembly as saying that New Delhi backs all initiatives centered on the steadiness of Afghanistan. “India actively takes part in international and regional initiatives regarding Afghanistan, and supports every effort leading to the stability and the development of Afghanistan,” Ahmad quoted the Indian consultant as saying in a put up on X.

An announcement from the Taliban overseas ministry stated Muttaqi considers relations with international locations of the area to be important and that he emphasised that these nations “should hold regional dialogues to increase and continue the positive interaction with Afghanistan”.

Muttaqi requested the members to benefit from rising alternatives in Afghanistan for the event of the area and to additionally “coordinate the management of potential threats”. He emphasised the necessity for optimistic interactions with the international locations of the area and requested the diplomats to convey the Taliban’s message of a “region-oriented initiative” to their international locations in order that Afghanistan and the area can collectively benefit from new alternatives for the good thing about all.

Reports within the Afghan media quoted Muttaqi as saying that the assembly was centered on discussions for establishing a “region-centric narrative aimed at developing regional cooperation for a positive and constructive engagement between Afghanistan and regional countries”.

He additionally informed the assembly that regional cooperation may give attention to exploring engagement pathways based mostly on frequent regional advantages, making a regional narrative for “positive and constructive engagement” with the Taliban authorities to “tackle existing and potential threats” within the area, and efforts geared toward “soft and hard connectivity” for regional financial

improvement.

Muttaqi additional stated the regional cooperation ought to result in requires the elimination of “unilateral sanctions” on Afghanistan and respect for “one another’s choices of indigenous and traditional development models and governance methods”.

Afghanistan is a “sovereign, free and safe country” with a authorities that “stands ready and has the capacity to conduct talks on common and concerning issues” with regional and worldwide gamers, Muttaqi was quoted as telling the assembly. He added that Afghanistan doesn’t need confrontation with any nation however seeks optimistic engagement.

“Therefore, our choices shall be respected. Instead of proposing governance models and pointing fingers at the system, it is better to engage on mutual interests,” Muttaqi stated.

India, the biggest regional donor for Afghanistan with pledges amounting to $3 billion, pulled out all its diplomats and officers from the nation after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021. It subsequently re-established a diplomatic presence within the nation by deploying a “technical team” on the mission in Kabul in June 2022.

Senior Indian diplomats have interacted with Taliban officers in West Asian international locations and on the margins of multilateral conferences on Afghanistan such because the Moscow Format talks hosted by Russia.