Relations between the European Parliament and the Afghan Wolesi Jirga (lower House) were inaugurated during the 2004-2009 legislature. A first ad-hoc Delegation of the European Parliament visited the country in July 2005, aiming at deepening the understanding of the political situation before the first parliamentary elections. The next Interparliamentary contact took place in Strasbourg, in December 2006, with an official visit of the then Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, Mr. Qanooni.
Marking the willingness of the European Parliament to strengthen nascent democratic institutions in the country, a fully-fledged Delegation for relations with Afghanistan was constituted immediately after the 2009 European elections - making it one of the youngest of the European Parliament. Due to the delicate situation prevailing in Kabul, interparliamentary exchanges have, since, taken place mainly by video-conference; the Chair of the Delegation has nonetheless been entrusted in representing the EP in January 2010 (inauguration of the Wolesi Jirga, Kabul) and, more recently, at the Bonn II International Conference on the future of Afghanistan, in November 2011, which the EP was invited to observe.
