Taliban Foreign Minister Arrives In India For First Time Since 2021 Afghan Takeover: What’s On Agenda?

Afghanistan’s Taliban Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived in New Delhi on Thursday. This is the first visit to India by a Taliban leader since the group regained power in 2021.

The visit highlights the Taliban’s efforts to build relations with regional powers. They are seeking economic partnerships and eventual diplomatic recognition. So far, only Russia has officially recognised the Taliban government.

“Warm welcome to Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi on his arrival in New Delhi. We look forward to engaging in discussions with him on bilateral relations and regional issues,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X on Thursday.

The United Nations-sanctioned foreign minister will be in India for a five-day trip, including a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. They will discuss political, economic and trade matters.

While India and Afghanistan have historically enjoyed close ties, India shut its Kabul embassy after the US exited the country in 2021. Whereas, New Delhi opened a small mission a year later to support trade, medical aid and humanitarian efforts. While not officially recognising the Taliban, New Delhi has held talks with Taliban officials to slowly improve relations.

Discussions during Muttaqi's trip will focus on bilateral cooperation and trade exchanges. These will potentially include talks on dry fruit exports, healthcare facilities, consular services and various ports, the Afghan Taliban foreign ministry said last week, reported Reuters.

Muttaqi is expected to ask India to allow the Taliban to appoint an official envoy at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi and to expand the staff at Afghan consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad, the report added.

India and the Taliban are slowly improving ties at a time when Pakistan and the Taliban are having problems. This comes as Pakistan is upset about rising cross-border terrorism and has carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, Muttaqi took part in a regional meeting in Moscow ahead of his visit. At the meeting, Afghanistan’s neighbours, including India, Pakistan, Iran, China and several Central Asian countries, issued a joint statement against the deployment of foreign military infrastructure in the region.

This statement was seen as a signal of opposition to the US President Donald Trump's goal to retake control of the Bagram military base near Kabul.