Afghan Biographies

Zekriya, Khaled Ahmad


Name Zekriya, Khaled Ahmad
Ethnic backgr. Pashtun
Date of birth 1968
Function/Grade Ex Ambassador to Italy
History and Biodata

1. Former Ambassadors to Italy and Non Resident Envoy to Greece:
Mustafa Zahir
Prof. Musa Marofi (20080317-20121119)
Dr. Ziaudin Nizam (20121120 -2016)
Waheed Omar (2016-20190219 resigned)
Mrs. Helena Malikyar (20190529, 20200128) recalled to Kabul (20200212)
Kahlid Ahmad Zakaria Khalid A. Zekria (20200903)

Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Musazai says Kabul is planning to open an embassy in Greece by the end of March 2012 to help deal with illegal Afghan migrants there. Kabul would close its embassy in Bulgaria at the same time.(20120108). Until now the Afghan Ambassador to Italy was non resident envoy to Greece.


2. Previous Functions:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Assistant Minister for Fifth Political Division (20070423,2008)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Director General Amerika's Affairs (20090611)
Ambassador to Qatar Doha (20080908, 20091122, posting terminated 20130131)

3. Biodata:
zekriya_khalidKhaled Ahmad Zekriya Zekria Zakaria was born 1968 in Afghanistan. He left Afghanistan and settled in San Diego, Cal., USA. Later he returned to Afghanistan to serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in different assignments.

Afghanistan has recalled Ambassador Zakaria  from Qatar for "consultations," the Afghan foreign ministry announced, amid media reports over the opening of a Taliban office in the Gulf state.(20111214) The AFP quoted a high ranking Afghan government official, who spoke to the news agency anonymously, saying that the Afghan government was aware that Qatar had held talks with the US and Germany on allowing a Taliban office to open, and supported the move as a means of facilitating the peace process. But he said: "The ambassador has been recalled as a protest over why they did not allow the Afghan government into these talks while there are official diplomatic relations between the two countries." He added that the opening of such an office "should not be seen as a concession" to the Taliban, the AFP reported.

Afghan ambassador Khaled Zekriya returned to Doha, Qatar and  stressed his four-month absence from Qatar did not represent a severance of diplomatic ties. (20120429)
 

Earlier January 2022, the embassy’s former first secretary, Mohammad Fahim Kashaf, who was dismissed for expressing pro-Taliban views, turned up claiming to be the Taliban’s new envoy, according to Zekriya. It didn’t take long before a fist fight with Zekriya began in the embassy’s garden. In a video statement, Kashaf said he remains “at the service of Afghanistan.” He didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Taliban have spoken out in support of Kashaf, calling his dismissal an illegal act. For his part, Zekriya says he doesn’t answer to the Taliban and has no imminent plan to leave Italy. “I represent the republic of Afghanistan and the constitution we worked so hard for,” he said. “I will not abandon the embassy.”

Khaled A. Zekriya is married and the father of a 9-year-old son named Wais, who lives in San Diego, California, USA.

Khaled A. Zekriya speaks English, Dari, Pashtu and is semi fluent in French and Spanish.



Based on Decree 1272, 27 August 2020, of H.E. President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Khaled A. Zekriya was appointed as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Italian Republic and assumed office on 6 January 2021. He also represents Afghanistan at the Rome Based Agencies (FAO, WFP, IFAD and IDLO) and oversees the Republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Malta, and San Marino’s  bilateral relations to which the Embassy of Afghanistan in Rome is accredited on non-residential basis.

Prior to his current post, from 2013 – 2020, Khaled A. Zekriya was the Director General of the Fifth Political Division (Americas, Australia, and New Zealand) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (MoFA). In this capacity, he was responsible for integrating political, economic, and social issues into Afghanistan's bilateral relations as well as overseeing and delegating the operations of Afghanistan's missions within the area of his regional jurisdiction. From 2009 – 201http://tecson.de/pheizoel.html3, Khaled A. Zekriya served as Afghanistan’s Ambassador to the State of Qatar and upon completion of his successful tenure, he received the State of Qatar's highest award, the Sash Merit Award by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Khaled A. Zekriya joined MoFA in May 2003 and in September of 2004, he was appointed as the Director of the ministry’s Fifth Political Division. Since the beginning of his tenure at the MoFA, Khaled A. Zekriya has led several phases of organizational restructuring at MoFA; taught diplomatic courses for Afghan diplomats and civil servants at MoFA’s Institute of Diplomacy; participated in the preparation of Foreign Service Entrance Exams and interviews; and finished the completion of the first Human Resource Policy Guide and Diplomatic Law for MoFA. Additionally, he served as the Chief Negotiator for the Dubai Process—a bilateral initiative between the Governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan—supported by the Government of Canada on issues related to security, economic and social developments around the Durand Line as well as led the negotiation talks with the Australia side on Migration and Humanitarian Cooperation between the governments of Afghanistan and Australia.

Concurrent to his official duties, Khaled A. Zekriya was also the Head of the 'Mine Action Clearance Program for Afghanistan' and represented Afghanistan at the G8 Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) conferences, which dealt with 'The Literacy Initiative in Afghanistan'.

Khaled Zekriya holds two bachelor’s degrees in Sociology and History from the University of California San Diego (UCSD). In 2003, he attained his M.A. in Political Science from San Diego State University (SDSU). His quantitative research for his master’s Thesis dealt with the study of 'Civic Culture' among the adult members of the Afghan community in San Diego, California.

Khaled A. Zekriya was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and is married and the father of a 9-year-old son named Wais, who lives in San Diego, California, USA.

Khaled A. Zekriya speaks English, Dari, Pashtu and is semi fluent in French and Spanish.


 

Last Modified 2022-02-03
Established 2009-11-22