The Taliban have announced that Mullah Hasan Akhund, the Prime Minister of the group, met with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), during his visit to Abu Dhabi.
This marks the first foreign trip by the Taliban Prime Minister since the group's return to power in Afghanistan.
According to a Taliban spokesperson, Mullah Hasan Akhund travelled to the UAE for medical examinations. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stated that Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited him during this trip.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Zabihullah Mujahid mentioned that the UAE President expressed his country's support for Afghanistan's reconstruction during the meeting. Mullah Hasan Akhund, in turn, emphasised strengthening the brotherly relations between Afghanistan and the UAE.
The Taliban Prime Minister is one of 61 senior Taliban members on the United Nations sanctions list. Sanctioned Taliban officials are allowed to travel with UN authorisation. It remains unclear whether the UN granted permission for this trip.
Mullah Hasan Akhund is known to be reclusive, and few images of him have surfaced in recent months. According to images released by the Taliban, Anas Haqqani, the brother of Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, accompanied him on the trip.
In late June, Sirajuddin Haqqani also made his first official foreign visit to the UAE, where he met with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
