Crossroads Asia | Diplomacy

Central Asia’s Relations With Taliban-ruled Afghanistan Continue to Deepen

In April, the first Afghanistan-Central Asia Consultative Dialogue was held in Kabul, highlighting the considerable development of relations over the last five years.

Following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, the Central Asian states carefully recalibrated their approaches toward Afghanistan. While cooperation initially remained largely confined to bilateral economic and security issues, it has now entered a new stage of development. 

In August 2025, Tashkent hosted a meeting of the Central Asian states’ special representatives on Afghanistan. This year, on April 5, the first Afghanistan-Central Asia Consultative Dialogue was held in Kabul. This initiative emerged as a new regional format aimed at institutionalizing interaction between Afghanistan and the Central Asian states. The platform effectively creates a new political and diplomatic space that brings Afghanistan and the countries of Central Asia together within a framework of regular dialogue, similar to the traditional “C5 1” mechanisms. 

More recently, the second Termez Dialogue, held in Tashkent on June 4-6, 2026, further underscored Afghanistan’s role as an integral component of the broader Central Asian regional landscape. In addition, the Afghanistan-Central Asia Think Tank Forum, held in Kabul on June 16, further demonstrated growing efforts to institutionalize Afghanistan’s engagement with Central Asia and strengthen regional cooperation.

Uzbekistan is the most active Central Asian state in developing relations with the Taliban and promoting Taliban-ruled Afghanistan’s integration into the regional economic space. Despite the absence of de jure recognition of the Taliban government by Tashkent, the Uzbek leadership has adopted what it terms a “pragmatic approach,” aimed at maintaining stability through constructive dialogue, while simultaneously advancing regional connectivity through the development of transport and logistics networks and the creation of new southern transport corridors. 

Humanitarian engagement also continued on a systematic basis. In March 2026, Uzbekistan delivered more than 290 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in connection with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. Subsequently, in May 2026, on the eve of Eid al-Adha, Uzbekistan dispatched another shipment of humanitarian assistance totaling approximately 215 tons, reaffirming the sustained and institutionalized nature of its humanitarian policy toward Afghanistan. 

Momentum is also evident in the economic and transport sectors. In June 2026, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Shokhrukh Gulyamov announced that the preparation of the feasibility study for the Trans-Afghan Transport Corridor had entered an active phase. According to him, field research activities have already commenced as part of the project, and detailed technical and economic assessments are expected to be submitted to the participating governments by the end of the year. 

Afghanistan-Kazakhstan relations have gradually moved beyond episodic engagement and have increasingly acquired an institutionalized and long-term character. In April 2026, Kazakh officials announced plans to increase bilateral trade from its current level of approximately $500 million to $3 billion. Key priorities to achieve this objective include the development of transport infrastructure, the creation of new logistics corridors, and the expansion of investment cooperation. Railway and transit projects occupy a central place in this process.

Earlier, in April 2025, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan signed a memorandum of intent on the development of the Turgundi-Herat-Kandahar-Spin Boldak railway line. The intensification of railway cooperation is also directly linked to the expansion of trade and economic ties between the two countries. In the first quarter of 2026, the volume of rail freight transportation between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan increased by 77 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 1 million tons. 

Afghanistan-Tajikistan relations have evolved from a framework focused primarily on security concerns toward one that increasingly incorporates diplomatic engagement. Nevertheless, Tajikistan continues to place particular emphasis on strengthening security along its Afghan border, particularly given occasional incidents such as the targeting of Chinese workers last year by attackers allegedly originating in Afghanistan. In March 2026, the Tajik parliament approved the implementation of a China-financed project worth $57 million aimed at developing new border infrastructure along the Afghan-Tajik frontier.

At the same time, diplomatic engagement between Dushanbe and Kabul has also intensified. In February 2026, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin said that the country’s security agencies maintain regular working contacts with representatives of the Taliban in order........

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