RASC News Agency: Robert Dickson, the Charge d’Affaires of the British Embassy for Afghanistan, recently met with members of the Taliban’s Chamber of Commerce. During the meeting, Yunus Mohmand, the Deputy Chairman of the Chamber, requested the British diplomat’s assistance in securing the release of the Taliban’s frozen central bank reserves. The Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported the meeting on Monday. Mohmand assured Dickson, who is stationed in Qatar, that the Taliban has undertaken measures to improve its relations with the international community.
The United Kingdom does not recognize the Taliban regime and has conditioned any potential normalization of relations on their compliance with human rights, particularly concerning women’s rights. During the meeting, Mohmand emphasized Afghanistan’s strategic position as a bridge between South and Central Asia and confirmed the seamless operation of goods transit through Afghanistan.
This is not the first time Taliban officials have called for the release of Afghanistan’s frozen assets. Previously, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s Foreign Minister, issued similar appeals. Following the Taliban’s return to power, over $9 billion of Afghanistan’s assets were frozen in European and American banks. On November 21, 2022, the United States established a trust fund in Switzerland to safeguard these assets, transferring $3.5 billion of Afghanistan’s reserves into this fund. The primary purpose of this fund is to stabilize Afghanistan’s financial and monetary systems and address the country’s economic crisis. Additionally, it aims to prevent a liquidity crisis, cover critical expenses like electricity imports, the printing of passports, banknotes, and other vital needs.
Dickson has not yet released a statement regarding this meeting. However, on Friday, September 27, he held discussions in Kabul with several Afghanistani entrepreneurs and investors, both men and women. He noted that “strengthening the private sector creates opportunities for women who are oppressed by the Taliban.” During the third Doha summit, organized by the United Nations, international representatives discussed bolstering Afghanistan’s private sector with the Taliban delegation. It seems that Dickson’s meeting, alongside the former UK Ambassador to Bangladesh, aligns with the agreements reached during the third Doha summit.
