Taliban’s Deputy Minister of Higher Education Lutfullah Khairkhwa in a visit to the Russian Republic of Tatarstan asked participants to cooperate with Afghanistan’s education sector.
While speaking at Kazan Forum, Mr. Khairkhwa said political unrest and prolonged war in recent decades have been the driving obstacles in improving Afghanistan’s education system.
This comes as the Taliban’s de facto authorities have banned secondary school and university education for female students in Afghanistan, which prompted worldwide condemnations.
Deputy Minister Khairkhwa described Kazan Forum as a great platform to increase cooperation between participating counties in the areas of education, economy and bilateral trade. However, he did not speak about the resumption of girls’ schools and universities in Afghanistan.
Mr. Khairkhwa was part of the Afghan delegation who were officially invited by Russian officials to attend the Russia-Muslim World Conference held from May 18-19 in Kazan, the capital city of Tatarstan.
Representatives from some 85 countries including Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states participated in this meeting according to Interfax news agency reported.
On the sidelines of the Kazan Forum, the Taliban’s envoy met with representatives of Russia, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Indonesia.
In a separate meeting, Lutfullah Khairkhwa met with Katriatov Irat, Deputy Minister of Higher Education in Russia. The two sides discussed joint cooperation and the Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education announced that Russia had promised to cooperate in Afghanistan’s education system.
