Indonesia says Taliban representatives visited ‘informally’

JAKARTA: Representatives of Afghanistan´s Taliban government travelled to Indonesia earlier this month on an unofficial visit, the foreign ministry in Jakarta said on Tuesday, despite Kabul saying they held meetings with politicians in the world´s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

The Taliban administration that took back power in August 2021 is trying to shore up recognition of its rule across the Islamic world, including courting Indonesia to boost political and economic ties.

But Indonesia has not recognised the legitimacy of the Afghan Taliban government since it resumed its rule two decades after US-led forces toppled their regime. “My understanding is that they were in Jakarta informally for internal matters with the Afghanistan mission here,” Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told AFP.

He said the visit could not be described as a delegation as that could imply “some sort of formality”. But the Afghan deputy foreign ministry spokesperson Hafiz Zia Ahmad tweeted on July 14 that one of the government´s top diplomats led a “delegation” to Indonesia. “The delegation held useful meetings and discussions with some scholars, politicians and businessmen in Indonesia for strengthening bilateral political and economic relations,” he wrote.