Taliban expands practical ties across region despite lacking full diplomatic recognition

Five years after returning to power, Afghanistan’s Taliban regime has quietly built a network of pragmatic relationships covering security, commerce, energy and transport, despite the majority of the international community withholding formal recognition. Kabul now hosts more than 40 diplomatic missions and collaborates with China, which runs an embassy, invests billions in the Logar copper mine and cooperates on security, even without official recognition.

Russia became the first state to grant formal recognition in July 2025, and Central Asian nations such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have signed multi-billion-dollar trade and infrastructure deals, including a railway link to Pakistan and the TAPI gas pipeline. Tensions with Pakistan persist over claims that Afghanistan shelters the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, leading Kabul to shift trade toward Iran and Central Asia. Iran offers the Chabahar port as an alternative route, while India slowly rebuilds ties to counterbalance Chinese and Pakistani influence. Western nations maintain limited engagement focused on counter-terrorism, migration and humanitarian aid, but concerns over women’s rights continue to block full diplomatic acceptance.