Five Years On, Taliban Expands Global Ties Amid Recognition Gap

Five years after seizing power in Afghanistan, the Taliban authorities have developed working relationships with a range of countries, despite the absence of formal diplomatic recognition from most of the world.

Russia remains the only nation to officially recognise the Taliban government. Many Western nations have said they will consider recognition only after visible progress on human rights, particularly regarding women's and girls' access to education and employment.

Nevertheless, numerous countries—including Britain and several European Union member states—have chosen to engage with Kabul for practical reasons. The Afghan foreign ministry in central Kabul is surrounded by embassies, travel agencies, and airline billboards, while the Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has said his government "seeks relations with all countries."

In recent months, the Taliban has hosted envoys from China, Japan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Britain. Mujahid has highlighted the importance of regional neighbours, stating that "economic ties and interests are closely linked." In this spirit, officials from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan gathered in Kabul to explore trade routes through Afghanistan that could give landlocked Central Asia access to the sea.

Erica Gaston, who served on a UN Security Council-mandated team to identify strategies for addressing challenges in Afghanistan, said regional nations were "always more pragmatic" in their dealings with the Taliban. "You had much more receptivity among regional member states to say, 'this is the reality that we have in our region and engagement is inevitable'," noted Gaston, who heads the Conflict Prevention and Sustaining Peace Programme at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research.

Beyond security coordination, Taliban officials have promoted cross-border infrastructure projects to support Afghanistan's fragile economy, which has been severely affected by international aid cuts. The government has expanded the mining sector, attracting firms from China and elsewhere. However, large-scale foreign investment remains scarce, as investors remain wary of the Taliban's limited recognition. Speculation that Iran might follow Russia's example has so far not materialised.

Meanwhile, Taliban officials have also travelled abroad. A delegation flew to Brussels in June for talks with 15 EU nations on the return of failed asylum-seekers. A European Union spokesperson said, "Those who have no legal right to stay in Europe must be returned." Germany has taken a leading role in this area, deporting an Afghan who had not been convicted of any crime for the first time since the Taliban's return to power in 2021, according to Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt in July.

Gaston observed that the passage of time has meant "more and more countries accept that this is the reality, even if it's a reality that they don't like or condone." Yet many nations have limited further engagement until they see changes in Afghanistan, particularly regarding the ban on girls' education beyond the age of 12. No policy shift is expected.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani over the persecution of women and girls, which it has described as crimes against humanity. Afghan women remain barred from many public spaces, including UN premises, a rule that remained in force despite a visit last month by the heads of two UN agencies.

A UN source in Kabul, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the ability to exert influence on the authorities remains "highly issue-dependent." The source explained, "Some of these issues are kind of fairly impenetrable, but then you have other issues on which you are able to make progress."