Taliban To Participate In China's Belt And Road Forum, Strengthening Relations And Raising Eyebrows

The Taliban has confirmed its attendance at China's Belt and Road Forum next week, according to a spokesman's announcement on Saturday.

As reported by Reuters, this move highlights Beijing's strengthening official ties with the Taliban-led administration, notwithstanding the absence of formal recognition from any global government.

The Belt and Road Forum is one of the most significant multilateral summits the Taliban has been invited to. The event, marking the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping's ambitious initiative, is set to take place in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Haji Nooruddin Azizi, the Taliban's acting minister for commerce and industry, will be traveling to Beijing to participate in the forum. He plans to invite large-scale investors to Afghanistan, a country known to possess a wealth of untapped mineral resources.

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Azizi will also continue negotiations in Beijing on constructing a road through the Wakhan corridor, a narrow, mountainous strip in northern Afghanistan. This proposed road would create a direct path to China, a plan that officials from China, the Taliban and neighboring Pakistan have expressed support for in the past.

Despite the Taliban's control of Afghanistan for two years following the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign forces, no government has formally recognized its authority. This is due to the Taliban's restrictive measures on women's access to public life and prohibition of many female NGO staff from work.

Nevertheless, China has increased its engagement with the Taliban. It is the first nation to appoint an ambassador to Kabul since the Taliban came to power and is investing in mining projects in Afghanistan.

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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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