Germany, Netherlands commit to providing salaries to Afghan doctors and teachers

The Taliban said they discussed humanitarian aid and political relations.

They also discussed ways to pay the salaries of teachers and health workers.

The Taliban conveyed that the salaries should be deposited directly into the bank accounts of workers to avoid delays.

Germany sent its high-level diplomats to Afghanistan for the first since the Taliban takeover and met with the Islamic Emirate’s Deputy Prime Minister and acting foreign minister.

The German Foreign Ministry in a statement said that the country's special representative for Afghanistan, Jasper Wieck, and ambassador-designate Markus Potzel met on November 18 with high-ranking officials from the Taliban government. 

The delegation was accompanied by Dutch special representative Emiel de Bont.

“Both sides highlighted the importance of continued operational contacts on issues where practical cooperation is both necessary and possible, in particular to address the humanitarian plight of the Afghan people,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Western governments are looking for ways to engage the Taliban and address the country’s dire humanitarian situation.

Germany has pledged to provide the people of Afghanistan with humanitarian aid but also added that it will not help the de-facto authorities in Kabul directly.

According to Khaama News, Germany’s Foreign Minister in a statement said that both sides acknowledged the continued operational contacts on issues where practical cooperation is both necessary and possible, the humanitarian crisis facing the Afghan people.

Taliban’s spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Motaqi met with the European delegation and acknowledged that it would be better to send the money to the accounts of the teachers and doctors directly, so as to prevent further delays.

In the meantime, Germany has said that the Taliban officials have committed in providing humanitarian workers safe and unhindered access to the people in need.

This development comes as the Taliban have not yet recognized, though the Western countries have pledged to engage with the de-facto authorities in Kabul to address the humanitarian crisis.