US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price confirmed that special envoy for Afghanistan Thomas West is set to travel to Doha next week for meetings over two weeks with Taliban leaders. 

Price said that West "will discuss our vital national interests when it comes to Afghanistan.”

“That includes counterterrorism, that includes a safe passage for US citizens and for Afghans to whom we have a special commitment and that includes humanitarian assistance and the economic situation of the country," he added.

Earlier this month West attended a meeting of the so-called ‘troika plus’ of Pakistan, China, Russia, and the United States to discuss Afghanistan. Meetings with prominent Taliban representatives were also held on the sidelines. 

West was also part of the US delegation that held meetings with Taliban officials in Doha last October; the first of their kind between Washington and the Movement since the chaotic withdrawal on August 31 of the US forces from Afghanistan.

The abrupt halt of most foreign development aid after the Taliban assumed power on August 15 led to the collapse of Afghanistan’s economy.

Therefore, millions of Afghans are increasingly facing hunger amid a sharp rise in food prices and widespread drought.