Foreign relations of Afghanistan
The foreign relations of Afghanistan are in a transitional phase since the 2021 fall of Kabul to the Taliban and the collapse of the internationally-recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. No country has recognised the new regime, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Although some countries have engaged in informal diplomatic contact with the Islamic Emirate, formal relations remain limited to representatives of the Islamic Republic.
Canadian Ambassador William Crosbie makes remarks during the opening of the refurbished Turquoise Mountain Foundation in Kabul on 9 May 2011.
Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Germany, with Franz Josef Jung to his right and James L. Jones to his left.
Hamid Karzai sitting with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev
Recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
The Taliban has ruled Afghanistan as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since taking control by force in 2021, overthrowing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The takeover was widely criticized by the international community, and no countries have extended de jure diplomatic recognition to the new regime, despite nominally maintaining relations with Afghanistan. The Taliban has campaigned for international recognition since the takeover. Several countries have vowed never to recognize the Islamic Emirate, and others have said they will do so only if human rights in the country are respected. Some countries have accredited Taliban diplomats at the chargé d'affaires level despite not recognizing the Islamic Emirate. In September 2023, the People's Republic of China became the first country to formally name a new ambassador to the country since the takeover, and in January 2024 recognized the Taliban's envoy to China; however, the PRC still does not formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Left) with Taliban Third Deputy Leader and Head of the Political Office Abdul Ghani Baradar (Right) in Doha, Qatar in 2020