Italy may relocate embassy to Doha as Kabul lacks 'security conditions': Foreign Minister

Italy may set up its diplomatic mission to Afghanistan in the Qatari capital Doha, weeks after closing it in Kabul, according to the country's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio. Addressing press reporters during his visit to Uzbekistan, the Italian leader confirmed that Rome was contemplating where to relocate its embassy adding that there were “no security conditions” to reopen it in Kabul. Last week, a Taliban spokesperson in a tweet disclosed that the Mario Draghi administration had promised to open its embassy in Doha. However, the tweet was deleted later. 

“We and our partners are currently discussing where to locate our embassies. There are no security conditions to open them in Kabul, which is why we are becoming more and more settled on the idea to temporarily set them in Doha,” Di Maio was quoted as saying by Sputnik. 

Qatar's capital Doha also houses the Taliban’s headquarters and is expected to play a pivotal role in shaping Afghanistan’s future course. Recently, many powerful countries including Japan have signalled to establish their diplomatic offices in the gulf country. It is worth mentioning that several media reports published last week debunked rumours of the Italian embassy returned to Kabul labelling them as groundless. 

US transfers diplomacy to Doha 

Earlier this week, the US State Department had said that the United States has “suspended” its diplomatic mission in Afghanistan and transferred the operations to Doha. In his remarks to the press on Monday, Blinken had said that the USA's withdrawal from Afghanistan will start “the new chapter” to America’s engagement with the war-torn nation and involves building a new team. Blinken had added that for Washington, “a new diplomatic mission has begun” as the “military mission is over.”

Japan touts relocation

Japan also disclosed plans to relocate its embassy to Qatar. On Monday, a top Japanese diplomat said that the pacific country has temporarily moved its embassy from Kabul to Turkey and would soon be relocating it to Qatar, according to Associated Press. It is imperative to note that the Taliban already have an office in the Qatari capital Doha and experts have predicted that the gulf state could play a pivotal role in shaping the course of events in Afghanistan. 

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