The President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan meets Afghanistan's Acting Defence Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob at Al-Shati Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on December 4, 2022. RYAN CARTER KABUL - The acting defence minister of the Afghan Taliban met the president of the United Arab Emirates UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan for talks in Abu Dhabi on strengthening relations, his ministry and UAE state media reported on Monday.
The acting defence minister, Mullah Yaqoob, is the son of the late supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, and the meeting with the UAE president is a rare encounter between a senior member of the group and a foreign head of state.
The Afghan defence ministry said on Monday that they discussed strengthening relations, bilateral cooperation between the UAE and Afghanistan and other important issues.
The UAE state news agency WAM reported that the meeting took place on Sunday.
The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has not been recognised by any government since the Islamists swept to power last year, as US-led foreign forces withdrew after two decades of war.
The Taliban have run a political office in Qatar for years, where top members of the group have often met foreign officials.
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The pictures of the talks show that a senior Taliban figure, Anas Haqqani, was present at the talks, according to the UAE news agency.
The UAE president met with the Taliban in September, after the Taliban signed a final contract for running Afghanistan's airports with the UAE company GAAC Holding, which had beat rival bids from Qatar and T rkiye.
Diplomats have told Reuters that the UAE is trying to counter Qatar's diplomatic influence in Afghanistan.