Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi on Wednesday held a video conference with Rashid Meredov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

Zia Ahmad Takal, Head of Public Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement that during the video conference, the two sides discussed political and economic relations between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, the enhancement of diplomatic ties, and major joint projects, particularly the progress of the TAPI pipeline project within Afghan territory.

Muttaqi described the current bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan as “stronger” than ever before and assessed the conditions as favorable for expanding cooperation and advancing shared interests.

He reiterated the Afghan government’s commitment to implementing major joint economic projects.

Meredov also described the ongoing progress of the TAPI project as positive and announced plans to expand practical cooperation in the areas of railways, trade, and transit in the near future.

He further pledged that Turkmenistan would soon offer greater visa facilitation for Afghan traders.

Both parties agreed to continue consultations and meetings aimed at accelerating the TAPI project, developing the railway network, improving transport infrastructure, ensuring electricity supply, and enhancing economic cooperation.

Abdul Karim Hasib, the director of the General Directorate of Passports, says the department’s revenue from passport distribution has totalled nearly 13 billion AFN over the past year, and more than two million passports have been issued to the country’s citizens.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday in Kabul, Hasib stated that the passport distribution process has returned to normal, and every citizen can easily apply for a passport.

He added that they have the capacity to print 50,000 passports per day.

Hasib stated that currently, the passport distribution process is running smoothly in all provinces of the country.

According to him, the entire process of obtaining a passport will become electronic in the near future.

Meanwhile, some passport applicants have stated that while the necessary facilities for the passport application process have been established, there is still a need for the process to be further expedited.

The Passport Directorate added that compared to previous years, the number of passport applicants has decreased, and currently, 4,000 passports are distributed daily across the country and the process of applying for a passport now takes about one hour.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has announced that more than $400 million in funding will be required to support the reintegration of Afghan returnees in 2025.

In a statement posted on its official Facebook page on Wednesday, May 7, UNAMA detailed that $64 million is urgently needed for emergency assistance at border crossings, while an additional $350 million is required to support approximately 600,000 returnees and affected communities in rebuilding their lives.

“We call on donors not only to invest in emergency assistance, but also in long-term capacity building to help break the cycle of displacement and instability,” the statement read.

UNAMA’s funding appeal is part of the “Integrated Response Plan” to address the anticipated crisis stemming from the mass return of Afghan migrants from Pakistan in 2025.

The plan, jointly developed by the United Nations and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), aims to deliver immediate aid at border entry points and provide medium- to long-term support for sustainable reintegration in designated “return areas.”

According to the UN, the strategy is grounded in the principle that sustainable reintegration must combine urgent humanitarian assistance at the borders and in return areas with broader support for affected communities over time.

The plan will be implemented through national and regional working groups focused on durable solutions, aligning short-term relief efforts with longer-term development and stability initiatives. Over 250,000 Afghan refugees returned last month.

More than 250,000 Afghan refugees returned home from neighboring Pakistan and Iran in April, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported this week. Nearly seven million Afghan refugees are living outside the country, a large percentage of whom live in Pakistan and Iran.

Last year, the Pakistani government said it would expel as many as three million Afghans this year.

Iran has also called on undocumented Afghans living in the country to return home. However, with the high levels of poverty and unemployment in Afghanistan, the returning refugees are in urgent need of assistance.

However, funding cuts in humanitarian assistance have had a huge impact on the level of assistance that organizations can provide.