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PUTRAJAYA – The Malaysian government is waiting to see the stand taken on the Taliban government in Afghanistan by international bodies like the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation before deciding its own stand on the matter.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah said Malaysia has yet to decide on recognising the Taliban and is taking a cautious approach to the matter.
“For the time being, there are no indications we will recognise the Taliban government and we don’t want to make any hasty decisions,” he said during a press conference after delivering the Malaysian Foreign Ministry’s new year’s message here yesterday.
On humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, Saifuddin noted that Malaysia had already pledged US$100,000 to the United Nations for the purpose.
Apart from that, a number of Malaysian non-government organisations have also extended assistance to Afghanistan, Global Peace Mission Malaysia being the earliest to enter the country after the withdrawal of United States forces.
The Taliban took back Afghanistan last August, after the withdrawal of the US and Nato forces. The country’s president Ashraf Ghani also quit the country as the Taliban returned to rule.
Meanwhile, Saifuddin in his message suggested that it was high time that Wisma Putra pay attention to emerging countries or new economies that are not badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among them are the ex-Soviet states and those in the Caspian Sea region.
“Several government-linked companies are looking at the ex-Soviet states and the Caspian Sea region, and other small countries that we don’t see as important, but the GLCs are optimistic of,” he said. – Bernama, January 13, 2022
