Acting Minister of Interior Sirajuddin Haqqani on Wednesday met with Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan, and Dmitry Zhirnov, Russia’s ambassador to Kabul.

Haqqani expressed appreciation for Moscow’s recent decision to remove the Islamic Emirate from its list of terrorist organizations. He described the move as “a significant step toward recognizing the political realities of Afghanistan.”

In a statement, the interior ministry said that both sides emphasized the importance of upgrading diplomatic relations to the level of embassies and reaffirmed their commitment to mutual cooperation in the fields of security and trade.

During the meeting, the two parties also discussed regional and bilateral cooperation in the areas of security, economy, and commerce, and stressed the need to strengthen ties between the two countries.

Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan, on Wednesday met with Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul and said a special meeting will be held on the sidelines of the Kazan Forum to officially launch the permanent joint commission between Russia and Afghanistan.

According to a statement issued by the Afghan foreign ministry, Kabulov said that expanding relations with Afghanistan is important to Russia, and for that purpose, Moscow has taken steps to remove obstacles in the path of developing bilateral ties.

This comes after Moscow last week removed the Islamic Emirate from their list of militant organizations.

During the meeting, Muttaqi expressed appreciation for Russia’s recent move to remove the IEA from its list of banned organizations and stated that the Islamic Emirate will soon appoint a diplomat at the ambassadorial level to serve in Moscow.

The two sides also discussed enhancing bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Russia, expanding economic and trade cooperation, and addressing certain regional issues.

The 16th International Economic Forum “Russia – Islamic World: Kazan Forum” will be held from May 13 to 18 in the city of Kazan, Russia. Afghan products and goods will be showcased at the event.

The Balochistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Quetta, Pakistan, has appealed to the federal government to issue work permits to skilled Afghan refugees who work in various sectors including mining and agriculture.

Haji Akhtar Kakar, the vice president of the chamber of commerce and industry, made the request while pointing out that the existing shortage of skilled labour could worsen further if the issue was not addressed promptly, Dawn news reported.

This comes amid Pakistan’s ongoing campaign to expel hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees living in the country.

Akhtar said however that due to Balochistan’s deteriorating security situation, mine owners, farmers and industrialists have had to rely on Afghans for skilled labor as Pakistani workers from other provinces were reluctant to move to Balochistan.

According to him, the decision to expel Afghan refugees had severely impacted the agriculture, mining, and industrial sectors in Balochistan, as a significant portion of the workforce came from Afghanistan.