On 19 April, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) delegation led by Ms Roza Otunbayeva, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Afghanistan and Head of the UNAMA visited the Vivekananda International Foundation. Mr Atul Kumar Gupta, Head of the UNAMA Donor Coordination and Mr Arman Khassenov, the Political Officer, UNAMA, Shri Batian N Chacko, the Deputy Secretary (Afghanistan) and Shri Rambabu from the Ministry of External Affairs were also part of the delegation, all of whom briefed on the current socio-political and economic situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban regime took power in Kabul as the new interim government. The meeting was also attended by Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director (VIF), Lt. General R. K. Sawhney (Retd.), Brig. Vinod Anand (Retd), Tilak Devasher, Ambassador Amar Sinha, Dr Shalini Chawla, Brig. Rahul Bhonsle, and other researchers from the VIF.

The discussion started with the opening remarks by Dr. Arvind Gupta highlighting India’s age-old relationship with Afghanistan. Ms Roza Otunbayeva, the SRSG gave a detailed analysis of the current political scenario in Afghanistan under the Taliban’s interim government. She elaborated on the role of UNAMA in Afghanistan after August 2021. Mr Atul Kumar Gupta highlighted Afghanistan’s current economic position and spoke of some of the important economic projects undertaken by the Taliban administration and its implications in the region. The delegation further mentioned that the Taliban is working towards being recognized internationally and has been communicating with officials from various countries to foster economic growth through several infrastructure development projects to become a self-reliant regime. However, the Taliban’s ban on women education and some of its repressive decrees have hindered their demand to get internationally recognized as the legitimate government of the country. It was further highlighted that engagement with the Taliban is the need of the hour for the international community to enhance peace, security and regional stability.