Akbasov: Afghanistan More ‘Opportunity’ for Regional Stability than Threat

Gaziz Akbasov, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Kazakh embassy in Kabul, stated in an exclusive interview with that Afghanistan’s stability has a significant impact on the security of the region and Central Asia.

In this interview, the Kazakh diplomat emphasized that Astana does not view Afghanistan as a threat.

Akbasov said: “Afghanistan is one of the key elements of security and stability in the Central Asian region. Based on this, Kazakhstan believes that Afghanistan is more of an opportunity for stability and security in Central Asia than a threat.”

Regarding the issue of recognizing the Islamic Emirate, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Kazakh embassy in Kabul stated that Kazakhstan will act in accordance with international laws and the decisions of the United Nations Security Council.

The Kazakh diplomat further noted that after the Islamic Emirate came to power, relations between Kabul and Astana expanded, and Kazakhstan did not close its embassy in Kabul after August 2021, continuing its diplomatic activities.

Akbasov also mentioned that Kazakhstan was the first country to remove the name of the Islamic Emirate from its list of banned organizations, with the aim of enhancing relations with Afghanistan.

Gaziz Akbasov stated: “Kazakhstan was the first country in the region to remove the Taliban from its list of banned organizations. Our goal was to maintain and strengthen our ties with Afghanistan. This move by Kazakhstan set an example for other regional countries, leading them to also remove the Taliban from their banned lists—for example, Kyrgyzstan did the same.”

Akbasov also stated in this interview that his country is interested in investing in infrastructure projects in Afghanistan’s industrial, mining, and energy sectors.

He further said: “We are interested in investing in infrastructure projects in the industrial, mining, and energy sectors, and in the near future, we will witness practical steps in this direction.”

This comes as diplomatic relations between Kabul and Astana began in 1992, and in 2002, Kazakhstan opened its first diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, which was upgraded to an embassy in 2003.