Taliban appoints ambassador to UAE for first time since Afghanistan takeover

Islamabad (Reuters): Afghanistan's Taliban-led foreign ministry said it has appointed its first accredited ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, the second country to accept an envoy at that level after China.

The UAE foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Taliban's government has not been officially recognised by any foreign capital and only Beijing has formally accepted the credentials of an ambassador.

The Taliban have also sent envoys to several countries including neighbouring Pakistan to head missions as "chargé d'affaires".

The Taliban-run foreign ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday that Mawlawi Badreddin Haqqani had been nominated as its ambassador and presented his credentials to the UAE's foreign ministry's assistant undersecretary for protocol affairs.

"The newly accredited Ambassador of Afghanistan will soon formally present his credentials to the Emir of the United Arab Emirates during (an) official ceremony," the ministry said.

The Taliban share economic ties with the UAE, which won contracts to run operations at Kabul airport in 2022. Interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, designated as a "specially designated global terrorist" by the U.S., met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi in June.

The Taliban entered the Afghan capital on Aug. 15, 2021, as the Afghan security forces, set up with years of Western support, disintegrated and U.S.-backed President Ashraf Ghani fled.