Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her international counterparts on the announcement of a government in Afghanistan.

How to approach the Taliban has been a topic of numerous discussions since the Taliban's announcement on 7 September, including two meetings of Foreign Ministers hosted by the US, the meeting of P5 Foreign Ministers which the Foreign Secretary convened on 22 September, an extraordinary meeting of G20 Leaders that the Foreign Secretary attended on 19 October, as well as bilateral meetings that the Prime Minister, the Minister of State for South Asia Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, and the Foreign Secretary have had with our international counterparts including during the Foreign Secretary's trips to the region in September and October. The UK and our international partners have agreed that the best way to pursue our objectives on counter-terrorism, humanitarian access, human rights, regional security and safe passage is to have a pragmatic dialogue with the Taliban, including through the UK Mission for Afghanistan in Doha.