Afghanistan–France relations are the

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

between

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Both nations are members of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

History

Afghanistan and France established diplomatic relations in 1922. In 1923, France opened a diplomatic legation in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

as well as an office for the

French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan The French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan (french: La Délégation archéologique française en Afghanistan (DAFA)) was created in France in 1922 at the request of the Afghan government and King Amanullah Khan to commence archaeologic ...

(DAFA).Relations Politiques (in French)
/ref> Initially, relations between both nations were underdeveloped. In 1928, Afghan King

Amanullah Khan Ghazi Amanullah Khan ( Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1 ...

paid an official visit to France. In January 1943, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, France closed its diplomatic legation in Kabul. As a result, Afghanistan closed its diplomatic legation in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1944 when

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...

declined Afghanistan's diplomatic legation dual accreditation to France and Switzerland. Soon after the war, both nations re-opened their legations and upgraded them to embassies in 1949.Histoire de l'ambassde
/ref> In 1965, Afghan King

Mohammed Zahir Shah Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan ...

paid an official visit to France and met with

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Charles de Gaulle. In 1968,

French Prime Minister The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister i ...

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

paid an official visit to Afghanistan. In 1979, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

invaded Afghanistan starting the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Sovie ...

. For the next 25 years, relations between both nations became nearly nonexistent. After the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, the French government announced in January 1990 that it would reopen its embassy in Kabul. Years later the Civil War and

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

stopped relations once again. Since the NATO led

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

, France has participated in multiple military excursions and battles throughout the country. In 2002, France re-established diplomatic relations with the Afghan government under President

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

. Under the

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

, France has played a leading role of providing security within the North-East part of Afghanistan, especially in the

Kapisa Province Kapisa (Pashto/Dari: ) is the smallest of Afghanistan's thirty-four provinces and is located in the north-east of the country. It has an estimated population of 496,840 people and an area of , making it the most densely populated province apar ...

. In August 2021, France closed its embassy in Kabul due to the return of the

in power. Afghanistan has an embassy in

High-level visits

Presidential visits from Afghanistan to France * King

(1928) * King

(1950, 1965) * President

(2002, 2005, 2008, 2012) Presidential visits from France to AfghanistanFrench leader Francois Hollande in Afghanistan: France's combat troops to pull out by year end
/ref> * Prime Minister

(1968) * President Nicolas Sarkozy (2011) * President François Hollande (2012)

Bilateral relations

Throughout the years, both nations have signed numerous bilateral agreements such as an Agreement of Cooperation between the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and

Kabul University Kabul University (KU; prs, دانشگاه کابل, translit= Dāneshgāh-e-Kābul; ps, د کابل پوهنتون, translit=Da Kābul Pohantūn) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd ...

(1960); Agreement on Health Cooperation (1963); Cultural and Technical Cooperation (1966); Agreement on Agriculture Cooperation (1969) and a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (2012).France and Afghanistan
/ref>

Trade

In 2015, trade between

and

totaled €27.8 million Euros. France's three main exports to Afghanistan are agricultural products, pharmaceuticals,

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...

and

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

products.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afghanistan-France

Bilateral relations of France

History

High-level visits

Bilateral relations

Trade

See also

References