Taliban delegation makes historic first diplomatic visit to Japan

(AFP): A Taliban government delegation was visiting Japan for the first time on Monday, in a rare diplomatic visit outside of the region.

The Afghan delegation left Kabul on Saturday, in a visit that local media said would last one week and included officials from the higher education, foreign affairs, and economy ministries.

“We seek dignified interaction with the world for a strong, united, advanced, prosperous, developed Afghanistan and to be an active member of the international community,” Latif Nazari, a deputy minister at the ministry of economy who is part of the delegation, tweeted on Saturday.

The Taliban government makes regular visits to neighbouring and regional countries, including in Central Asia, Russia and China.

However, it has only officially visited Europe for diplomacy summits in Norway in 2022 and 2023.

Japan’s embassy in Kabul temporarily relocated to Qatar after the fall of the previous foreign-backed government and the takeover by the Taliban in 2021. But it has since reopened and resumed diplomatic and humanitarian activities in the country.

The Afghan delegation plans to “exchange views with Japanese government officials during their stay”, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported, citing unnamed Afghan diplomatic sources.

Japan’s foreign ministry could not immediately comment on the visit when contacted by AFP.