The fourth meeting of the Doha process counter-narcotics working group took place in Kabul on Wednesday, convening Taliban officials, United Nations representatives, foreign diplomats and technical experts to discuss joint efforts to curb drug production and trafficking, Taliban said in a statement.
Hosted by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) at the Kabul Grand Hotel, the session brought together representatives from the Taliban-run ministries of foreign affairs, interior, agriculture and health, alongside international organisations, the European Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and representatives of several countries, both in person and online.
Taliban’s foreign ministry said a decree by their leader banning poppy cultivation has driven opium production in Afghanistan to near zero, and highlighted enforcement measures, alternative livelihoods for farmers and drug-treatment programmes as evidence of their commitment to counter-narcotics efforts. They also warned that synthetic drugs and precursor materials sourced from outside Afghanistan posed a growing regional and global threat if left unaddressed.
“UNAMA, UN agencies and foreign participants welcomed the sharp decline in poppy cultivation, describing it as an unprecedented development for Afghanistan,” the ministry said.
Several participants pledged support for counter-narcotics initiatives and stressed the need for coordinated action through the Doha process and bilateral engagement, the statement said.
It added that they also emphasised that sustaining the gains would require viable alternative livelihoods for farmers and expanded rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for people with drug dependence.
The UN mission in Afghanistan has not commented on the meeting so far.
The Doha process, launched by the United Nations in 2023, provides a structured platform for engagement between the international community and Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities amid continued non-recognition of the de facto government. It focuses on practical cooperation across thematic tracks, including humanitarian assistance, economic issues and counter-narcotics.
The counter-narcotics working group was established under the Doha process in late 2024 and has held several meetings, including previous sessions in Doha that focused on coordination mechanisms, data-sharing and implementation challenges. The Kabul meeting forms part of that ongoing series rather than a first gathering inside Afghanistan.
The meeting followed a recent visit to Kabul by Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN under-secretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, who held talks with senior Taliban officials, including their foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Taliban interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, as part of broader efforts to advance the Doha process and other relevant matters.
