Many heads of state, prime ministers and foreign ministers attended the Antalya Diplomacy Forum hosted by Turkey. One of the invited officials was the Taliban Foreign Minister Emirhan Muttaqi. Muttaqi met with representatives of many states and international organizations within the framework of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. He gave important messages to the West, the regional states and the Afghan people, especially the United States of America (US), by speaking at the panel held under the title of “Afghanistan: How to Deal with New Realities?”
At the begining of his speech, Muttaqi has expressed in the beginning of his speech that, Taliban’s founding leader Mollah Mohammad Omar is on the side of diplomacy after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, yet the US and and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has chosen the war and occupied Afghanistan. Muttaqi has claimed that “Diplomacy can be a tool for preventing wars instead of legitimizing the wars.” and by saying that diplomacy has a crucial role for Taliban to take over Afghanistan again. In that sense, Taliban’s Minister of Foreign Affairs has said that they are right on war against the invasion and therefore the US had to choose diplomacy. According to Muttaqi, on February 29, 2022, the US has signed Doha Agreement and from August 21, 2021, she has withdraw from Afghanistan due to that Agreement. Muttaqi, with his explanation, has claimed that 20-year-war happened due to US and Taliban is right to be a hegemon in Afghanistan again. As it can be understood, Foreign Minister of Taliban has highlighted that they are not the aggressive one and they are defending their countries.
Muttaqi has also made a call to the international society. International society has demanded that an inclusive government should be established, the human rights and women’s rights should be respected, and Taliban should be stand away of the terrorist groups. In response, international society has claimed that they will recognize the Taliban government. In his speech, Muttaqi has responded the demands in his speech. He said that in the Taliban Government, there are people from every ethnicities and everywhere of Afghanistan, and he said that 500 thousand workers remained in their jobs. Besides, Muttaqi has claimed that nowhere in the world, the governments came into power with revolutions did not give place to the opposition, and he claimed Taliban has an inclusive manner.
On women’s rights, Muttaqi has said that the women which are public employees are given their wages, the universities are open to the women and the schools will be open to them soon. In that sense, Taliban has highlighted that there are not any limitations over Islamic measures.
On the other hand, Muttaqi has claimed that the US and NATO cannot beat Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) so-called Khorasan Emirate (ISKP), yet Taliban has defused it in a short time. In those explanations Muttwi has pointed out that the conditions for recognizing Taliban has been completed.
Besides, Muttaqi has given different messages to the states of the region. In that sense, Taliban’s Foreign Minister has expressed that “Afghanistan is the heart of Asia. If this country loses power, all of the states in the world will be on trouble, especially the states of the region.” In that sense, Muttaqi has claimed that the territories of Afghanistan will not be used against anyone and neighboring states should give up the policy of weakening the Taliban Government. In addition, he said that the countries of the region will be effected most from the Afghanistan’s problems and they should act accordingly. According to Muttaqi, the increase of instability in Afghanistan will make all of the region be threatened from terrorism and migration problems. Undoubtedly, Foreign Minister of Taliban has given the messages that they want to develop the relations based on cooperation with the region’s states.
Another group that Muttaqi addressed during his speech was the Afghan people and the opposition of the Taliban. Muttaqi mentioned the successes of the Taliban, stating that the deposed regime was a puppet government that was disconnected from the people, involved in corruption and managed to survive with foreign aid. Muttaqi said that despite the cessation of foreign aid and the blocking of Afghanistan’s reserves, the Taliban created the state’s budget with their own means and saved the country’s economy from collapse.
However, Muttaqi stated that the Taliban ensured security throughout the country and put an end to corruption and local armed groups. In this sense, the Taliban Foreign Minister, rather than an inclusive government that his country needs; stated that it is a stable and safe environment. Thus, he emphasized that it would be possible to create a prosperous society.
In his message to the opposition, Muttaqi stated that the Taliban has a tolerant structure and stated that they are trying to make the government more inclusive with various reforms.
In his speech, Muttaqi also talked about the foreign policy approach of the Taliban. In this context, the Taliban Foreign Minister, claiming that their foreign policy understanding is based on the principle of neutrality, stated that they want to remove Afghanistan from being a place of competition between regional and global actors, and talked about their desire to transform into a trade and transit junction that provides Central Asia-South Asia-Middle East connectivity. With this statement, Muttaqi gave the message that they are open to cooperation that will be shaped in line with a mutual win-win understanding with all states, without being a part of regional and global power struggles.
Referring to the economic situation of the country, Muttaqi stated that no significant investment was made in Afghanistan’s infrastructure during the 20-year occupation and drew attention to the need for support in this sense. In addition, Muttaqi wanted the international community to take responsibility for the creation of a self-sufficient Afghanistan and stated that they expected the international community to put pressure on the release of Afghanistan’s national reserves.
After all, the Taliban are aware of the power of the international community, as can be understood from the messages given by Muttaqi in Antalya. Therefore, it takes care not to be isolated from the international community by taking part in diplomatic events. Thus, the Taliban officials talk about the situation in their country with their interlocutors, convey their demands and expectations, and better understand what is expected of them. In other words, unlike the 1990s, the New Taliban favors dialogue with the international community.
