EU Special Envoy Prepares for Doha Meeting on Afghanistan

During a press conference on Thursday, Tomas Niklasson, EU Special Envoy for Afghanistan, said that the main focus of his visit to Afghanistan has been to prepare for the Doha meeting.

Doha meeting hosted by the United Nations is set to be held on February 18 and 19.

Special Envoys of different countries for Afghanistan and international organisations will be among the participants of this meeting.

Earlier, it had been announced that the representatives of Afghan women and civil society, as well as representatives of the Taliban, will also attend the Doha meeting.

The United Nations' selection of representatives for Afghan women and civil society members to invite for the Doha meeting remains unclear. The Taliban has stated that their decision to participate in the Doha meeting will be determined after receiving a clarification regarding the agenda of the meeting from the United Nations.

At the press conference, Niklasson said that the Taliban has a positive outlook towards the Doha meeting and their participation.

However, he added that Taliban officials say that they will decide on their participation if the United Nations provides clarification about the meeting format and proceedings.

Niklasson said that the main purpose of his meeting with Taliban officials was to focus on the Doha meeting, and he discussed various issues, including the composition of the Taliban delegation for the meeting.

He added that during his four days in Kabul, he held discussions with Taliban officials, including the deputy Minister of Interior for Counter-narcotics, about the achievements of the ministry in the fight against narcotics.

He mentioned that in the near future, he is participating in a meeting of representatives from five Central Asian countries in Kyrgyzstan to discuss the fight against drugs in Afghanistan.