The second day of the third Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan was held in China, where the participants exchanged views on the current Afghan situation.
The formation of an inclusive government, paving the ground for peace and stability in Afghanistan, the reopening of girls schools, as well as human rights issues and countering terrorism, are said to be the main agendas of the talks.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said that the neighboring countries pledged to provide economic cooperation to Afghanistan.
The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and Qatar, where they called for the formation of an inclusive government solution for the current Afghan problems.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered written remarks.
“President Xi … noted that a peaceful, stable, developing and prosperous Afghanistan is the aspiration of all the Afghan people. It is also in the common interests of regional countries and the international community,” Xi said as quoted by the China Foreign Ministry in a press release.
“President Xi concluded his remarks by stressing that the neighboring countries of Afghanistan should do their best to build consensus and coordinate efforts to support the people of Afghanistan in building a brighter future,” the press release read.
“We urge the Western countries led by the United States to earnestly fulfill their primary responsibility for the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, return the property of the Afghan people as soon as possible, and oppose attempts to create chaos in Afghanistan and bring disaster to the region,” said Chinese FM Wang Yi as quoted by CGTN.
Meanwhile, China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan in the “Troika Plus” meeting called on the Islamic Emirate to take distance from the terrorist groups.
“We welcome any movement which is aiming to support the Islamic Emirate and people of Afghanistan. It is a good step. But every procedure and action will be monitored by the Islamic Emirate,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
Moscow also expressed concerns about the presence of Daesh in Afghanistan and said it has accredited a diplomat of the Islamic Emirate in Russia.
“We are concerned about Daesh and other groups’ activities in Afghanistan—about the destabilization of the Central Asian Nations and extension of destabilization to Russia,” said Sergei Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation.
“Regarding the schools’ doors being closed for the women, even the participants at the meeting in China could not provide enough support,” said Torek Farhadi, a political analyst.
Yi visited Kabul on Thursday, where he met with the First Deputy Prime Minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, and the acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, as well as the Ministry of Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry in a press release said that China is against political pressure and economic sanctions on Afghanistan:
“We oppose the political pressure and economic sanctions on Afghanistan imposed by non-regional forces at every turn,” Yi was quoted as saying in a press release. “We hope that the Afghan interim government will build an inclusive government and exercise prudent governance and continue to make positive efforts in a direction that serves the interests of the Afghan people and the expectations of the international community.”
The Islamic Emirate called the visit of the Chinese and Russian delegations important to pave the ground for the facilitation of ties with the world.
“The officials of the Islamic Emirate also call for good engagement with China and talked about the resumption of some projects,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
A delegation from the Russian Federation, led by the Russian special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, also visited Kabul in the same day. In his meeting with the Islamic Emirate’s officials, Kabulov discussed the biliteral ties and extension of Moscow’s cooperation with Afghanistan.—Agencies
