Taliban’s Travel Diplomacy Aims to End Its International Isolation

The Taliban leadership has not been able to end its isolation since seizing power in Afghanistan during the summer of 2021. With international sanctions, frozen assets, and no official recognition as the de jure rulers of Afghanistan, the regime has resorted to travel diplomacy as an attempt to end its international isolation.

There are limited countries with diplomatic missions in Afghanistan; just four, including Pakistan’s upgrade of its chargé d’affaires to ambassador in Kabul last month, have appointed ambassadors to the country under the Taliban’s de facto rule. However, eager to gain more support and a diplomatic boost, the Taliban are not leaving any stone unturned. Travel diplomacy is the Taliban's new tactic to win support for the group's rule in Afghanistan. In addition to the visits abroad, the Taliban also got a diplomatic boost with a few significant visits from other countries to Kabul. 

In recent months, Taliban officials have made frequent international visits. Senior officials of the Taliban regime, including Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, have traveled to China, Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Qatar, and several other countries. During these trips, the Taliban leaders attempted to discuss migration, border security, trade, and combating drug trafficking. However, the primary focus remained on establishing and strengthening its diplomatic ties. According to the Taliban’s deputy minister for technical affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Abdul Latif Nazari, “The travels of senior Islamic Emirate officials to important and influential regional countries have elevated the level of political, diplomatic, trade, and economic relations, and this trend continues to benefit the national interests of the country.”

According to the Taliban Travel Tracker, since January 2025, Taliban delegations have made several trips abroad. Almost all of the trips were confined to Asia with Russia, which is partly located in Europe, being the only exception. Some of these trips were made by Taliban officials subject to United Nations sanctions but who had received approved travel ban exemptions. This includes Muttaqi. On the other hand, several other Taliban officials not subjected to U.N. sanctions also made important visits both for multilateral and bilateral meetings.

These frequent trips by Taliban officials make clear that the group is not as isolated as the international community perceives it to be. Western sanctions have proved ineffective as the Taliban have even made a few major diplomatic moves with the Western allies in the region so far this year.

In January, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, along with Abdul Haq Wasiq, the head of the Taliban’s intelligence, visited the United Arab Emirates, a key Western ally in the Middle East. During Haqqani's second visit to the UAE, following his trip in June of the last year, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan engaged in discussions with Haqqani. Haqqani's visit came after a trip by Muttaqi, who met with India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri several weeks earlier, reportedly with the mediation of the UAE. In addition to these significant visits, the UAE accepted the credentials of the Taliban government’s ambassador in August 2024, becoming the second country to do so after China.

In addition to Haqqani and Muttaqi’s visits to the UAE, the Taliban achieved another diplomatic breakthrough in the region by welcoming Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, to Kabul on January 26. This marked Iran’s first high-level diplomatic visit to Afghanistan in almost a decade. During his visit, officials from both countries engaged in discussions that hinted at increased cooperation in their bilateral relations, which could pave the way for Iran’s recognition of the Taliban.

In February, a Taliban delegation made a visit to Japan, a close ally and partner of the United States. It was the first diplomatic trip by Taliban officials to the country. On this occasion, Taliban’s Deputy Minister Abdul Latif Nazari said in a post on X “We seek dignified interaction with the world for a strong, united, advanced, prosperous, developed Afghanistan and to be an active member of the international community.” The visit was an initiative of the Nippon Foundation, a private organization, but Ando Toshihide, an assistant minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, also serving as the ministry’s special representative for Afghanistan, held a meeting with the Taliban delegation. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa said, “The visit is significant as it complements Japan’s ongoing efforts” to urge the Taliban to respect human rights.

In March, Muttaqi visited Oman, marking the first acknowledged meeting visit of a senior Taliban minister to the country. During his visit, Muttaqi held a meeting with Sayyid Bard Albusaidi, minister of foreign affairs of Oman, where the two discussed food security, education and training, and trade and investment. Oman’s chief diplomat confirmed Muscat’s support to facilitate Afghanistan’s integration into the international community, a move that will help the Taliban reduce its diplomatic isolation.

On April 17, the Taliban witnessed a paradigm shift from Russia as Moscow suspended designation of the group as a terrorist organization. On April 19, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar made a visit to Kabul, which marked the first major trip by a senior Pakistan official to Afghanistan since February 2023. Almost a week later, on April 28, Anand Prakash, New Delhi’s point person on Afghanistan, made a visit to Kabul and held talks with Muttaqi on political and trade relations. Indeed, April proved a significant month for the Taliban’s diplomatic boost and gaining more support internationally.

In May, the Taliban had its first high-level contact with India when S. Jaishankar, India’s minister of external affairs, talked to Muttaqi over the phone on May 16 and thanked him for his condemnation of the Pahalgam attack. Then Muttaqi traveled to Iran to attend the Tehran Dialogue Forum on May 17. During his visit, he also held meetings with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and met again with Araghchi to discuss issues of mutual interest including water related issues, shared border, security, trade, and Afghan refugees in Iran.

Iran and India both supported the Northern Alliance, the anti-Taliban group in Afghanistan during the Taliban’s first stint in power between 1996 and 2001. The growing engagement of both countries with the Taliban this time around is the result of the changing geopolitical situation. However, for the Taliban, it is a significant diplomatic advancement and a positive step to end its international isolation.

The Taliban’s recent travel diplomacy and international engagements indicate the group is not as isolated as perceived abroad. These travels and engagements may not bring official recognition for the de facto regime in Kabul for the time being, but they certainly have shifted the political atmosphere in its favor.  It is also worth noting that the regime is no longer focused on seeking recognition or even conciliation from the West only. It is engaging in the region to secure its interests and end its isolation.