Taliban Insist On Continued International Aid 'As Needed By Afghans'

Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister, at the fourth coordination meeting between the Taliban and UN agencies, emphasised on the continuation of the international community's assistance to Afghanistan according to the needs of the people.

Amir Khan Muttaqi also said that the international community's assistance should be such that it has long-term benefits for Afghanistan.

The fourth coordination meeting between the Taliban administration and United Nations agencies was held on Wednesday, January 15, at the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul.

The meeting discussed economic stability, health and nutrition, education, economy, food security, counter-narcotics, climate change, refugees and internally displaced persons.

Amir Khan Muttaqi said at the meeting, "The assistance of the international community should be provided based on the needs and priorities of the Afghan people."

He said that permanent resettlement of refugees returning from neighbouring countries, providing alternative livelihoods for farmers, ensuring Afghanistan's access to international financial resources in the field of climate change, supporting the health sector, and paying attention to the mine clearance sector are among Afghanistan's priorities today.

The Taliban's foreign minister called on UN agencies to change the type of aid to Afghanistan from humanitarian to developmental aid.

"It must be ensured that aid is spent on long-term infrastructure systems, efforts must be made to use domestic production to increase the positive impact of aid," he explained.

This comes close on the heels of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump and there is a possibility of cutting off the country's aid to Afghanistan.