Several European nations are considering reopening their embassies in Afghanistan after pulling out of the country in 2021.
According to Bloomberg, an EU diplomat said officials in Brussels are beginning to recognize the need to reestablish missions in Afghanistan.
Currently, only the European Union is represented in Kabul. Individual European countries closed their embassies in August 2021 when the former government collapsed.
Bloomberg reported that Italy in particular is considering reopening its mission and that Rome’s ambassador to Qatar recently visited Kabul.
However, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said about reopening the embassy that “we are working on it. […] Solving the problem is very difficult and will take time.”
Spain is adopting a similar approach, Bloomberg reported. While the Spanish ambassador to Afghanistan currently operates from Qatar, Madrid plans to return its envoy to Kabul “as soon as possible.”
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares explained said: “As soon as minimum security conditions are met, we will return our ambassador. We were ready a month ago, but unfortunately, ISIS terrorists killed three Spaniards in Afghanistan at that time.”
