The Taliban-led government of Afghanistan appointed its diplomat to the UAE on 14 March in a bid to get closer to formalizing relations with the Gulf country.

The Taliban’s ministry of foreign affairs confirmed that Abdur Rahman Feda, Kabul’s chief of protocol, would be appointed as Afghanistan’s consul general to Abu Dhabi.

According to local reports, Feda replaced Masood Ahmad Azizi as Kabul’s representative to the UAE, who was previously appointed by the US-backed Afghan government before the Taliban take over in August 2021. Feda arrived in Dubai to meet with UAE officials on 15 March.

As of now, the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan has yet to be recognized by the international community; however, Kabul is in talks with regional states, such as Qatar and the UAE, to ignite bilateral relations.

Despite Afghanistan’s appointment of a representative to the UAE, on 15 March, a report indicated that the UAE authorities had arbitrarily detained 2,400 to 2,700 Afghan nationals that sought asylum in the UAE and are now subjected to “miserable conditions” in the “Emirates Humanitarian City,” located in Abu Dhabi.

Back in December, Emirati state media revealed that the acting defense minister of Afghanistan visited the UAE to meet the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

The rare visit tackled the will of both leaders to “strengthen relations and advance the bilateral cooperation between the UAE and Afghanistan,” according to a statement by Afghan’s ministry of defense.

Despite the non-existing diplomatic ties, the UAE and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) signed a contract with UAE-based company GAAC Holding to operate the country’s airports and transport infrastructure.

The 10-year-long contract was hailed as a “significant development” by Ibrahim Moarafi, the General Manager of GAAC.

Similarly, Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, celebrated the agreement’s impact in terms of “increasing state revenue and offering job opportunities to many citizens.”