What happened? 
On 12 October, the G20 leaders met via video conference in a special meeting scheduled to discuss the Afghanistan crisis. The meeting was presided by the current G20 chair and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. He commented: "(we) must acknowledge that they'll be judged for their actions and not their words."  

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "... to look on as 40 million people descend into chaos because there's no electricity supply or financial system – that cannot and must not be the goal of the international community," while the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated: "... the Afghan people should not pay the price of the Taliban's actions." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement appealed to the Taliban to "keep their promises to women and girls and fulfil their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law." 

On 11 October, the Taliban's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said: "We want positive relationships with the whole world... such a balanced relationship can save Afghanistan from instability." 

What is the background? 
First, the Afghanistan crisis. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has severely hit the country's already weak economic system; primarily because the group was unable to seize the previous government's funds. This led them to plead poverty and thus, deepen the humanitarian crisis with broken banks, unpaid officials, inability to obtain food, and skyrocketing inflation. The deteriorating situation of women in the country, and their increasing repression, has also raised global concerns.

Second, the virtual G20 meeting. This is the first time the G20 members gathered to discuss the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Their primary goal was to provide aid to prevent Afghanistan from an impending 'economic catastrophe'. The EU stepped up its previous EUR 300 million aid by another 700 million, accounting for a total of EUR one billion. This would be given both to Afghanistan and those countries harboring Afghan refugees. Germany, separately, pledged EUR 600 million. The IMF and World Bank, present at the meeting, agreed in principle to support the aid. The UN and its agencies are expected to distribute the aid; however, they do not have a choice but to involve the Taliban. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also proposed to establish a G20 special working group to address Afghanistan-related issues. Despite inviting countries like Qatar, which has been accepting Afghan refugees since the crisis began; the Taliban was not invited to the meeting.  

Third, the refusal to recognize the Taliban. The virtual conference took place while the Taliban held its first face-to-face talks in Qatar with the US-EU emissaries. Despite the inevitable involvement of the Taliban in the aid distribution, the G20 leaders firmly refused to politically recognize the militant group's government. It has been nearly 45 days since the Taliban takeover and the government is yet to be recognized by a country. Methods to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for militant groups like al-Qaeda and the IS group were also discussed.  

Fourth, the absentees. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped the meeting; instead, their respective foreign ministers attended. Prior to the meeting, China had called for the removal of economic sanctions imposed on Afghanistan along with the unfreezing of their overseas international assets. Reflecting diplomatic tensions, Russia scheduled a rival conference on Afghanistan for 20 October. The invitees for this meeting include the Taliban, Pakistan, India, and Iran. Commenting on their absence, Draghi said that there "weren't specific reasons for absence," and that they were wholly involved in the process ahead of the meeting. The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was also absent since he is on holiday. 

What does this mean? 
There is quite an effort being put to aid Afghanistan despite the world's differences with the Taliban. As previous development aids remain frozen overseas, the global leaders are in a fix on how to aid the people of Afghanistan without recognizing the Taliban government. The ability to realize this aid and make it reach those in need, in time, will determine the economic and humanitarian future of Afghanistan.