Reduction in Drug Production in Afghanistan: 4th Doha Working Process Meeting Held in Kabul
DID Press: 4th Doha Process anti-narcotics working group held today (Wednesday, 4 February) in Kabul, bringing together Taliban officials, UN representatives, diplomats, and technical experts to discuss joint efforts in reducing drug production and trafficking.
The meeting, hosted by the UNAMA (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) at the Grand Kabul Hotel, was attended by officials from the Taliban’s ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Agriculture, and Health, as well as international organizations, the EU, OIC, and several countries, both in-person and virtually.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the leader’s directive to ban poppy cultivation had reduced opium production in Afghanistan to nearly zero. They also highlighted alternative livelihoods for farmers and drug addiction treatment programs as evidence of their commitment to combating drugs. Additionally, they warned that industrial drugs and imported raw materials from outside Afghanistan posed a growing regional and global threat.
Representatives from the UN and foreign participants welcomed the significant reduction in poppy cultivation, calling it an unprecedented development for Afghanistan.
The meeting participants emphasized the importance of supporting anti-narcotics initiatives and the need for coordinated action through the Doha Process and bilateral cooperation. They also stressed continued success of these efforts through alternative livelihoods for farmers and the expansion of rehabilitation programs for addicts.
So far, the UNAMA mission has not issued an official response to this meeting.
The Doha Process, launched by the UN in 2023, provides a structured platform for international engagement with the Taliban-led government in the context of non-recognition, focusing on practical cooperation in areas such as humanitarian assistance, economic development, and anti-narcotics efforts.
The meeting followed recent visit of Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding, who met with senior Taliban officials in Kabul to discuss various issues.