Taliban Diplomat to Head Afghan Embassy in Delhi Meets MEA Official

New Delhi: Marking the formal start of his tenure, the Taliban-appointed chargé d’affaires of the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi on Monday (January 12) held discussions at the Ministry of External Affairs on trade and visa-related matters.

In a statement on the meeting with MEA joint secretary Anand Prakash, the Afghan Embassy said the talks covered bilateral political and economic relations, the expansion of trade, facilitation of visa processes, and concerns raised by Afghan traders, students and Afghan nationals living in India.

Mufti Noor Ahmad Noor, whose appointment followed Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India in October last year, arrived in the national capital on January 7 to assume charge at the embassy. The first ever ministerial visit since the fall of the Islamic republic marked a dramatic turnaround in India’s relations with the Taliban government, which also contrasted against deteriorating ties between Kabul and Islamabad. 

Noor had also been part of the delegation that accompanied Muttaqi during the India visit.

He is the first Taliban-appointed diplomat to head the Afghan embassy in India, which had largely been under republic-appointed diplomats so far. 

“Both sides emphasised the importance of strengthening Afghanistan-India relations and expanding bilateral cooperation and engagement,” it added.

A previous attempt by the Taliban to appoint a charge d’affaires for Delhi was foiled in April 2023 after the diplomat was rejected by embassy staffers and blocked from entering the premises.

Since most of the Islamic Republic-appointed diplomats have left the embassy in the last couple of years, the Delhi mission had been largely administered by the Afghan consul general in Hyderabad till now.

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