Taliban, EU delegation discuss Afghanistan's political, economical turmoil in Doha

Delegates from the Taliban and the European Union met in Doha to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan. According to Tolo News, Taliban and European Union delegations discussed Afghanistan's political and economic challenges, as well as humanitarian help. The Taliban delegation had met with Mutlaq Al Qahtani, the special envoy of Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the day before to discuss methods to boost humanitarian assistance for Afghan citizens. This meeting takes place while a Taliban group visits Qatar, where a fresh round of talks between the Taliban and the US will begin next week.

"Taliban and European delegates met yesterday and today and discussed issues related to various issues in Afghanistan, " Tolo News, in a tweet, quoted, Mohammad Naeem, spokesman of the Islamic Emirate's political office in Qatar, as saying.

According to a statement released by Qatar's foreign ministry, "The delegations discussed topics related to counter-terrorism, enhancing human rights and humanitarian aid. The two sides stressed on the importance of having humanitarian aid reach its beneficiaries, especially with the winter season approaching."

Tolo News reported, according to State Department spokesman, Ned Price, United States' special representative for Afghanistan, Tom West is scheduled to meet with Taliban leaders, next week, in Doha. He stated that they will discuss US' national interests in favour of Afghanistan. West began his first tour to Europe and Asia as the United States' special envoy for Afghanistan on November 8. He went to Brussels and met with EU and US allies over Afghanistan. Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated in its assessment that the Afghan economy could contract by 30% or more year on year, potentially leading to famine.

The Afghan crisis

Earlier, western foreign aids warned of the current situation in Afghanistan, as the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization withdrew troops in August. In an effort to alleviate the aforementioned crisis, the Taliban has expanded its diplomatic actions, including reaching out to European Union countries for financial help. According to several media reports, Afghanistan's economy has crumbled since the Taliban took over Kabul in mid-August, driving the country into one of the world's greatest humanitarian catastrophes. According to various media reports, millions of dollars in help that once supported the previous government have vanished, billions of dollars in state assets have been frozen, and economic sanctions have isolated the new government from the global banking system.

Afghanistan is now facing a severe cash shortage, which has paralysed banks and companies, skyrocketed food and gasoline costs, and sparked a horrific famine crisis. Following the Taliban's takeover, the country is today wracked by an economic, humanitarian, and security crisis. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned earlier this month that 3.2 million children in Afghanistan are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of the year, with one million of them at risk of dying as temperatures drop. No humanitarian situation can be solved solely by humanitarian assistance, according to Abdallah Al Dardari, the UNDP's resident representative in Afghanistan. He added that If we lose these systems in the coming months, it will be difficult to reconstruct them in time to meet the country's basic demands. We are witnessing a rapid and irreversible deterioration. According to an UN report, as much as 97% of the Afghan population could be living in poverty by the middle of next year.

(With inputs from agencies)

Image: AP