Uzbekistan accepts Afghan ambassador in win for Taliban govt

• Ghafar Bahr only third to be deputed abroad since Taliban takeover.
• Envoy to Tashkent presents his credentials to Uzbek authorities. 
• Bahr describes upgradation of bilateral ties as pivotal phase.

Uzbekistan has accepted an ambassador from Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, Kabul’s foreign ministry said Thursday, a rare diplomatic triumph for the internationally isolated government.

The ambassador to Tashkent is only the third to be accredited abroad since the Taliban seized power in 2021, joining a pair already recognised in China and the United Arab Emirates.

The envoy named to Uzbekistan was Abdul Ghafar Bahr, who formerly served as a judicial official in southern Kandahar province and Kabul.

At a ceremony where his credentials were accepted the day before, "Bahr described the upgradation of bilateral relations as a pivotal phase, hoping for further progress", Taliban government foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi wrote in a post on X on Thursday.

Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov said on the social media site the countries "share a common history and interests of prosperity that serve as an impetus for the development of cooperation ties in all areas".

On the same day, the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum signed a 10-year agreement with an Uzbek company valued at around $1 billion for the exploration and extraction of a natural gas block in northern Afghanistan.

Since the Taliban ousted the Western-backed administration in 2021, no foreign country has yet officially recognised their government.

But three years into their rule, they have been making diplomatic inroads.

They appeared for the first time at UN-brokered talks this summer, and have reached out to neighbouring nations to emphasise economic cooperation.