Turkmenistan's declaration of "permanent neutrality" was formally recognized by the United Nations in 1995. Former President Niyazov stated that the neutrality would prevent Turkmenistan from participating in multi-national defense organizations, but allows military assistance. Its neutral foreign policy has an important place in the country's constitution. Although the Government of Turkmenistan claims to favour trade with and export to the United States, and Turkey, its single largest commercial partner is China, which buys the vast bulk of Turkmen natural gas via the Central Asia–China gas pipeline. Turkmenistan has significant commercial relationships with Russia and Iran and growing cross-border trade with Afghanistan. The Government of Turkmenistan often appears to use the conflicting interests of these regional powers as a means to extract concessions, especially on energy issues.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan is a UN Special Political Mission tasked with assisting the people of Afghanistan.
Sharif Ghalib is the president of the Canadian Afghan Council (CAC) based in Toronto, Canada. He has previously served as Chief Policy Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. He formerly served as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) and Chargé d'affaires of the Embassy of Afghanistan in Ottawa, Canada. Prior to the posting, he served as Deputy Permanent Representative (DPR) and Chargé d'affaires to the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) and Chargé d'affaires at the Embassy of Afghanistan in Bern, Switzerland.
Tehmina Janjua(Urdu: تہمینہ جنجوعہ) is a retired Pakistani career diplomat who served in BPS-22 grade as the 29th Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. Among her other notable appointments, was her position as Pakistan's Representative to the United Nations in Geneva and as ambassador to Italy, with concurrent accreditation to Albania, San Marino and Slovenia.
Afghanistan and Canada established diplomatic relations in 1968. In 2003, Canada opened its embassy in Kabul and appointed its first resident ambassador. Afghanistan appointed its first resident ambassador to Canada in 2002. In August 2021, Canada closed its embassy in Kabul with the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan. Since the 2021 Taliban coup, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's embassy in Ottawa continues to be served by diplomats representing the former government; in addition, the Afghan embassy in Canada has been accredited to provide diplomatic services to the United States, following the closure of the country's Washington, D.C. embassy.
Alexander Vladimirovich Yakovenko is a Russian diplomat. He served as the Ambassador of Russia to the United Kingdom between January 2011 and August 2019. Since August 2019, he has been rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia. While working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, he was in charge of multilateral diplomacy. A graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1976, he later gained a Doctor of Law degree. Yakovenko holds the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and speaks Russian, English and French.
Mahmoud Saikal is an Afghan former senior diplomat and an international development specialist. He was the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United Nations from October 2015 until February 2019.
The permanent representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations is the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's foremost diplomatic representative to the United Nations. The permanent Representative is the head of a diplomatic mission to the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. The permanent representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations has headed the Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations since Afghanistan became a UN Member State on 19 November 1946.
Afghanistan officially joined the United Nations on 19 November 1946 as the Kingdom of Afghanistan. In June 1945, the month after war had ended in Europe, representatives from 50 countries came together and drew up the UN Charter, which was signed on 26 June 1945. The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945.
The United Nations Credentials Committee is a committee of the United Nations General Assembly whose main purpose is to report to the Assembly regarding the credentials of the body's representatives.
Adela Raz is an Afghan politician who was the last ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United States from July 2021 to February 2022. She was also the first woman to serve as Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations.
The Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations is the formal title of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's delegation to the United Nations. Afghanistan officially joined the United Nations on 19 November 1946 as the Kingdom of Afghanistan.
Roya Rahmani is an Afghan diplomat who served as Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the United States and non-resident ambassador to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic from December 2018 to July 2021. She is currently the Chair of the international advisory company in development finance — Delphos International LTD. She is also a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, a senior advisor at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, and a senior fellow for international security at the New America Foundation. From 2016 to 2018, she served as Afghanistan's first female ambassador to Indonesia, first ever ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and non-resident ambassador to Singapore.
Rabab Fatima is a Bangladeshi diplomat. She is currently the high representative of the United Nations for the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states (UNOHRLLS). Between 2019 and July 2022, she served as the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations. Prior to this, she was Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan. On 1 February 2022, she was elected the Chair of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC).
Kyaw Moe Tun is a Burmese diplomat who currently serves as the Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations. Prior to his appointment to UN, he had served as director-general of International Organizations and Economic Development Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2018.
The Taliban has ruled Afghanistan as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since taking control by force in 2021, overthrowing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The takeover was widely criticized by the international community, and no countries have extended de jure diplomatic recognition to the new regime, despite nominally maintaining relations with Afghanistan. The Taliban has campaigned for international recognition since the takeover. Several countries have vowed never to recognize the Islamic Emirate, and others have said they will do so only if human rights in the country are respected. Some countries have accredited Taliban diplomats at the chargé d'affaires level despite not recognizing the Islamic Emirate. In September 2023, the People's Republic of China became the first country to formally name a new ambassador to the country since the takeover, and in January 2024 recognized the Taliban's envoy to China; however, the PRC still does not formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The United Arab Emirates also accepted a Taliban appointed diplomat as Afghanistan's new ambassador in August 2024.
On 16 April 2022, the Pakistani military conducted predawn airstrikes on multiple targets in Afghanistan's Khost and Kunar provinces. Afghan officials said the attacks killed at least 47 civilians and injured 23 others. Initial reports described the attacks as either rocket strikes or aerial strikes carried out by a number of aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force, and Afghan officials claimed the operation was carried out by Pakistani military helicopters and jets. Pakistani officials initially denied Pakistan carried out the airstrikes, but Pakistani security officials later claimed the airstrikes involved drone strikes from inside Pakistani airspace, and that no aircraft were deployed. Some reports said the Pakistani airstrikes also targeted parts of Paktika Province.
