Regional Leaders Back Taliban Trade Ties While EU Holds the Line

Top level officials from Central and South Asia convened in Tashkent on June 4 to discuss regional trade and connectivity under a format known as the Termez Dialogue. Participants were unanimous in seeing a strategic need to weave Afghanistan into regional trade networks, but discussion on specific tactics to achieve that aim did not feature prominently at the gathering. For Central Asian states, the shortest route to a seaport runs through Afghanistan. But there are broader reasons for deepening engagement with the Taliban leadership, Bakhromjon…