Muttaqi discusses human rights issues with US envoy

The Foreign Ministry of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), said in a statement on Monday, that the delegation led by the acting foreign minister met with US special envoy for Afghanistan Thomas West in Doha and discussed several topics including the issue of human rights.

According to the statement, the talks lasted for two days and representatives from various US agencies were also in attendance.

“The delegation led by the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Da Afghanistan Bank – Central Bank, as well as the officials of the Afghan Embassy and Political Office in Qatar; [they] talked with Thomas West, the US special representative for Afghanistan, and a fifteen-person high-ranking delegation from various agencies for two days at the level of collective and various technical committees,” read the ministry statement.

According to the ministry the two sides discussed the issue of building trust between them; taking practical steps in this direction; removing names from blacklists and lifting sanctions; unfreezing Afghanistan’s frozen reserves; maintaining Afghanistan’s economic stability; fighting against drugs; and the issue of human rights.

The ministry said that in the meeting, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan emphasized the importance of building trust and the scrapping of blacklists.

“Humanitarian aid, freedom to travel and consular services reaching Afghans in every part of the world were also important topics that were discussed,” said the ministry.

The ministry said the fact that some banking restrictions have been removed was seen as a positive development.

Both sides agreed that meetings of this nature were needed going forward, the ministry stated.