Nicola Bellomo Becomes EU Chargé d’Affaires in Afghanistan

DID Press: Italian diplomat Nicola Bellomo has taken up his duties as the European Union’s Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in Afghanistan, succeeding Veronika Bošković Pohar.

Bellomo said he was “honoured” to represent the interests and values of the European Union in Afghanistan. The EU’s official delegation in Afghanistan identifies Bellomo as its new Chargé d’Affaires and recently quoted him in remarks on EU cooperation with Afghanistan.

The EU maintains a diplomatic presence in Kabul at the Chargé d’Affaires level while continuing operational engagement with the Taliban authorities on issues including humanitarian access, human rights, displacement, counterterrorism and regional stability. The EU says it does not recognise or legitimise the Taliban authorities as Afghanistan’s government.

The bloc also continues to support humanitarian, development and resilience programmes in Afghanistan. In September, the EU announced €5 million in support for an initiative with the Food and Agriculture Organization aimed at strengthening agricultural resilience and livelihoods, while it has also allocated funding for economic opportunity, community resilience and assistance to returnees.