Taliban expands global ties but still lacks official recognition

The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has successfully expanded ties in security, trade, energy, and transport with numerous countries, five years after returning to power amid near-total international isolation. While Russia became the first country to formally recognize the Taliban-led government in July 2025, the broader international community continues to withhold full political recognition, according to diplomatic sources and political analysts.

Despite the lack of formal global recognition, the Kabul government has actively integrated into the regional diplomatic landscape, and its relations with many nations are steadily widening.

Expanding diplomatic footprint

Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Kabul is “working with more than 40 diplomatic missions, including embassies and consulates in various countries, along with dozens of foreign missions and organizations operating in Kabul.”

China has emerged as one of the Taliban's most significant partners, running an embassy in Kabul and cooperating closely on security and investment. This cooperation focuses heavily on mining, especially the Logar copper mine project, awarded to a Chinese firm under a 2008 contract with a declared investment of nearly $3.4 billion.

In January 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping formally accepted the credentials of the Taliban's ambassador in Beijing, although China has not officially recognized the current administration in Kabul.

Regional trade and tensions

Relations with neighboring Pakistan remain the most complicated issue for the Taliban. For decades, Pakistan was seen as a key patron and ally of the Afghan Taliban, providing weapons, funding, and sanctuary for movement leaders. However, ties have deteriorated sharply since the Taliban regained power, particularly over Pakistan's allegations—denied by Kabul—that Afghanistan is harboring and supporting the armed group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The TTP has been behind many of the deadliest attacks in Pakistan in recent years.

Kabul is increasingly using trade and border crossings as leverage, diversifying trade routes through Iran and Central Asia to reduce dependence on Pakistani ports. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan is actively building economic ties with the Taliban, signing trade deals worth around $520 million in 2026. A proposed railway linking Uzbekistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan aims to give Central Asian countries access to the Arabian Sea.

Turkmenistan is also cooperating with Kabul on the multi-billion-dollar TAPI gas pipeline project, which includes a 735-kilometer section crossing Afghan territory. However, the entire Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India pipeline project is currently stalled due to tensions between India and Pakistan, and now between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Security analyst Abdul Jalil Amini told Al Jazeera that concerns about ISIL (ISIS) are a “more pressing motive” for Russia and Central Asian states to cooperate with the Taliban. Amini noted that these countries believe the Taliban can control shared borders and have succeeded in maintaining a degree of security and stability.

Balancing regional powers

Iran and India are also cautiously pursuing their interests in Afghanistan. Tehran maintains broad trade and energy ties, offering the Chabahar port as an alternative route for Kabul, despite lingering tensions over Helmand River water sharing. Meanwhile, New Delhi is gradually rebuilding relations to counter Pakistani and Chinese influence. Farid Mamundzay, former Afghan ambassador to India, said the Taliban operates a “pragmatic policy aimed at maintaining balanced ties with multiple powers to serve its interests.”

Gulf states such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) retain a diplomatic presence in Kabul, but cooperation is limited compared with Central Asian nations. Ahmed Karimi, professor of international relations at Kabul University, told Al Jazeera that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are being “more cautious” this time, limiting themselves to receiving the movement's diplomats.

Security coordination with the West

Western countries maintain contact with the Kabul government, mainly on security, counterterrorism, migration, and humanitarian aid, while issues of women's rights and governance remain major obstacles to formal recognition. Strategic affairs expert Najib al-Kuzi said the relationship between Washington and Kabul “has not stopped since the U.S. withdrawal, but is largely limited to security and intelligence.” European nations also maintain working relations, with the European Union mission continuing to operate in Kabul.