KABUL/WASHINGTON - The Afghan interim government's Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi on Thursday met a US delegation in Kabul to discuss bilateral relations and an exchange of prisoners, the ministry said.

During the meeting, both sides also discussed the issue of the United States providing consular services for Afghan nationals in the US, Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesman for the foreign ministry, posted on his X account.

The US delegation was led by Adam Boehler, the US special envoy for prisoner affairs. He was accompanied by Zalmay Khalilzad, former US ambassador to Afghanistan and former US special envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation, Ahmad said.

Ahmad quoted Boehler as saying that progress on prisoner exchange between the two countries is a significant step toward building trust.

This was the first US delegation to visit Afghanistan and meet with top government officials since the Afghan interim government assumed power in August 2021.

In January, the Afghan interim government and the United States exchanged prisoners under the mediation of Qatar. 

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Also on Thursday, the Taliban in Afghanistan have released a US citizen it detained more than two years ago following efforts by the Trump administration and Qatari negotiators, the US State Department said in a statement.

George Glezmann, 65, an airline mechanic, was on his way back to the United States to be reunited with his wife, said the statement.

Glezmann was held by the Taliban in December 2022 when he travelled through Afghanistan as a tourist. He is the third American detainee to be released by the Taliban since January. The first two were set free in the last days of the Biden administration.

The Taliban gave up its previous demand that America hand over imprisoned Taliban members and agreed to release Glezmann in exchange for improved relations with Washington, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, citing US officials.

There are still seven Americans detained in Afghanistan, including one who is deceased, said the report.

Qatar has hosted negotiations between the US and the Taliban for years.