Taliban higher education minister Neda Mohammad Nadeem travelled to Oman on Sunday for talks aimed at expanding what the Taliban described as academic cooperation.
The Taliban-run Ministry of Higher Education said Nadeem was scheduled to meet Omani officials and discuss strengthening scientific and academic ties. The delegation is also expected to visit educational and research institutions in Oman, the statement said.
The visit by Nadeem, who is a close aide to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, comes despite his inclusion on a United Nations Security Council sanctions list that includes travel restrictions.
He was appointed higher education minister after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and soon after ordered the exclusion of female students and women lecturers from both public and private universities across Afghanistan. The ban remains in place nearly four years later, with no change in policy announced by the ministry.
During his tenure, Taliban have also overhauled university curricula, removing subjects deemed inconsistent with their ideology and replacing them with Islamic culture and religious studies, according to academics.
Oman has not publicly commented on the visit.
