Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – The Taliban say they will join China’s upcoming Belt and Road Forum as relationship between the two seem to be growing significantly despite the Taliban’s lack of formal recognition by any government.
While Taliban representatives have attended regional meetings, primarily focused on Afghanistan, their participation in the Belt and Road Forum represents one of the highest-profile multilateral summits they have been invited to join. The forum, scheduled to take place in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday, commemorates the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s ambitious global infrastructure and energy initiative, often described as the modern Silk Road to enhance global trade.
Haji Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban’s acting minister for commerce and industry, is expected to travel to Beijing in the coming days to attend the event. During his visit, he plans to engage with potential investors and promote opportunities in Afghanistan, a country with significant untapped mineral resources, including copper, gold, and lithium, whose current value remains uncertain.
China has been in discussions with the Taliban regarding various projects, including the development of a substantial copper mine in eastern Afghanistan, initially initiated under the previous government. The possibility of constructing a road through the Wakhan corridor to establish a direct connection between Afghanistan and China will also be on the agenda.
Notably, China has been at the forefront of engaging with the Taliban, appointing an ambassador to Kabul, making it the first country to do so since the Taliban’s rise to power. This contrasts with other nations, which have either retained their previous ambassadors or appointed heads of mission in a charge d’affaires capacity, bypassing formal recognition due to concerns about the Taliban’s treatment of women and NGOs.
The Taliban’s participation in the Belt and Road Forum underscores the evolving dynamics of international relations in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.
