Moldova's Prime Minister Criticized the Visit by a Taliban Delegation
Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan responded to the visit to the country by representatives of the “Taliban” government. He called the situation surrounding the arrival of the delegation from the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock unacceptable.
As Tofan noted, the approval of this visit was the result of a misjudgment of the situation and insufficient coordination among government agencies.
“The situation with the delegation from Afghanistan is awkward and unacceptable. The Republic of Moldova does not recognize the Taliban government,” the prime minister emphasized.
According to him, a Moldovan company that supplies goods to Uzbekistan requested support for expanding agricultural exports to Afghanistan.
“Such exports are not prohibited by the European Union’s sanctions regime per se. The sanctions are directed against specific individuals and organizations, not against agricultural trade with Afghanistan in general,” Tofan explained.
He added that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry had sent a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Inspectorate for Migration, and the Border Police. The individuals were not on any sanctions lists, so the border police issued a favorable opinion, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the visas.
“The procedure was followed formally, but without the necessary political and diplomatic assessment. A clearly sensitive case was treated as a routine administrative matter. The result was an erroneous decision,” Tofan noted.
According to him, it is now necessary to “clearly define responsibilities and correct the mechanism that allowed this situation to occur, through clearer rules and mandatory coordination at the political and diplomatic levels.”
All decision-makers in government agencies must understand their individual role when signing a document or approving a decision. “We’re not just dealing with paperwork—we’re running the country—and we need to be more careful when making decisions,” the Moldovan prime minister concluded.
He wrote about this on his Facebook page.
Moldova confirmed a visit by a Taliban delegation, but without any official meetings.
The Taliban, recognized by Russia, has permitted child marriages in Afghanistan—The Times.
Earlier, the Taliban’s supreme leader issued an order banning the construction of windows in residential buildings that face areas used by Afghan women. In existing buildings, such windows must be blocked off.
The Taliban authorities have banned most female employees of humanitarian organizations from working, which, according to humanitarian workers, has made it more difficult to reach women in need and could lead to donors suspending funding.
