Mohammad Zahid Ahmadzai, the Taliban deputy minister of labor and social affairs, said during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Kabul that unemployment is currently one of Afghanistan’s greatest challenges and that Iran’s assistance and expertise are essential to address it.
He asked Iran to facilitate work permits for undocumented Afghan workers and to share its technical and vocational expertise.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said in a press release that during the meeting, Seyed Malek Hosseini, Iran’s deputy minister of cooperation, labor, and social welfare, was joined by several Iranian officials, including Mohammad Reza Bikdeli, Iran’s ambassador to Afghanistan.
According to the statement, the two sides discussed developing technical and vocational training in Afghanistan, sending skilled Afghan workers to Iran, exchanging practical and scientific work experiences, and other related topics.
The Taliban deputy minister called for the expansion of technical and vocational training programs in Afghanistan, both in terms of quantity and quality, and for conducting joint training initiatives.
According to Hosseini, Iran is prepared to cooperate legally in organizing Afghan workers in Iran, exchanging skilled labor, launching short- and long-term vocational training programs for Afghans, and sharing work experiences with the Taliban.
The Iranian official expressed hope that undocumented Afghan migrants in Iran could receive legal identification documents and that illegal entry of workers into the country could be prevented. He said that once these issues are addressed, Iran is ready to issue up to 2,000 work visas annually to Afghan citizens.
Following the large-scale expulsion of Afghan migrants many of whom were skilled workers Iran announced it would issue roughly 200,000 work visas to Afghan citizens, a move aimed at addressing labor shortages in the country.
