Afghan embassy re-opens in UAE

Mr Karzai wants expatriate Afghans to return

By the BBC's Gulf correspondent Julia Wheeler

The head of Afghanistan's interim government, Hamid Karzai, has re-opened his country's embassy in the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE was one of only three countries to recognise the Taleban regime and the first to cut ties with the group after the 11 September attacks in the United States.

When the Taleban embassy in Abu Dhabi was closed, within two weeks of the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings, Taleban officials were given just 24 hours to leave the UAE.

The Emirates was the first country to sever ties with the regime, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Embarrassment

I understand the Emirate of Dubai was always more keen to recognise the Taleban than its neighbour, the capital Abu Dhabi, and the result has been considerable embarrassment in recent months.

Hamid Karzai's visit to the UAE, at the invitation of the president, Sheikh Zayed, represents a new beginning for relations between the two countries.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Mr Karzai said he hoped the fluttering of the Afghan flag on UAE soil would be a source of permanent friendship and brotherhood, as well as constructive relations.

Rebuilding efforts

After re-opening the Afghan embassy, Mr Karzai met Sheikh Zayed, together with ministers from both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Mr Karzai spoke of the need for Afghans to return to their country from abroad, in order to help rebuild it.

He says there are 200,000 expatriate Afghans in the United States, and a similar number in Europe, and that their return is vital to the reconstruction of the country.

The estimated 100,000 Afghans living in the Emirates will have been listening carefully.