Ambassador Khaled Zekriya

Ambassador Khaled Zekriya is a member of the Global Advisory Council of Displaced International (DI) and currently serves as Ambassador to Italy. He also represents Afghanistan at the Rome-based UN agencies (FAO, WFP, IFAD, and IDLO) and oversees bilateral relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Malta, and San Marino on a non-residential basis. Previously, he served as Ambassador to Qatar, where he was recognized with the Sash of Merit by the State of Qatar for his diplomatic contributions.

With over two decades of diplomatic service, Ambassador Zekriya has held senior roles at Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Director General for the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. His experience includes participation in bilateral and multilateral negotiations on forced displacement, migration, and humanitarian cooperation. He led talks under the Dubai Process with Pakistan and co-led negotiations with Australia on migration issues. He has also represented Afghanistan in international forums such as the UN General Assembly, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the G8 BMENA process.

In addition to his diplomatic work, Zekriya has contributed to foreign service development, authoring Afghanistan’s first Human Resource Policy Guide and Diplomatic Law. He has lectured at institutions such as the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA) and the Institute of Diplomacy in Kabul. He holds an M.A. in Political Science from San Diego State University and dual B.A.s in Sociology and History from the University of California, San Diego. He is fluent in Dari and English, and conversant in Pashto, French, and Spanish.