Relationship dossier
Afghanistan
United Arab Emirates
Relationship assessment
Practical cooperation and diplomatic engagement continue alongside uncertainty over the status of Afghanistan's Taliban authorities.
Afghanistan toward United Arab Emirates
+35Afghan authorities have engaged with the UAE on practical matters, including an arrangement involving a UAE company to provide airport services. Taliban authorities have also maintained diplomatic contact with the UAE.
United Arab Emirates toward Afghanistan
+35The UAE has provided humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, engaged with Taliban representatives, and accepted credentials from a Taliban-appointed ambassador while stopping short of formal recognition of the Taliban government.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship features tangible humanitarian and operational cooperation, alongside UAE diplomatic engagement with Taliban authorities. The lack of formal UAE recognition of the Taliban government leaves the political status of bilateral ties unsettled.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates have engaged through humanitarian assistance, diplomatic contacts, and practical cooperation, including an airport-services arrangement involving a UAE company. The UAE has also received Taliban representatives and accepted credentials from a Taliban-appointed ambassador without formally recognizing the Taliban government. The relationship combines practical engagement with uncertainty over the scope and status of official ties.
Key developments
A UAE company entered an arrangement with Afghan authorities to provide airport services.
The UAE accepted credentials from an ambassador appointed by Taliban authorities, without formally recognizing their government.
The UAE hosted former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani after he left Afghanistan.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of Afghanistan's airport-services arrangements with UAE companies are unclear.
- The extent of formal bilateral engagement with Afghanistan's Taliban authorities remains uncertain.