MUNICH (SW) – A wide range of top foreign officials expressed support for the peace conference in Afghanistan during a series of meetings with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and President Ghani discussed the peace process, joint mission against terrorism and stressed on regional countries’ sincere cooperation on peace in Afghanistan. According to the presidency, Secretary General Stoltenberg said that NATO is firm on its commitments to Afghanistan, and asserted that peace in Afghanistan is not viable unless led and owned by the government of Afghanistan.
President Ghani thanked NATO member nations for their support to Afghanistan, and said that Afghans from all provinces will hold a comprehensive discussion on peace in a consultative Loya Jirga that will be organized within a month.
High Representative of EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini also met President Ghani on the sidelines of the MSC 2019. She reiterated that EU is ready to cooperate with Afghanistan in the implementation phase of a prospective peace deal, and in upcoming elections, the official statement read.
Federica Mogherini reiterated the European Union’s concrete 5-point offer made in Geneva last November to support peace in Afghanistan: helping to make the peace process more inclusive; promoting reforms including in the security sector; supporting the reintegration of ex-combatants; having the EU as a guarantor of the peace process; and encouraging cross-border trade, infrastructure and regional connectivity. The EU has been working during these months with the Afghan counterparts to operationalise the five points.
Federica Mogherini – who discussed the recent developments in Afghanistan also with the US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo this morning in Brussels – held with President Ghani an exchange of views on the need for the creation of an inclusive Afghan negotiation platform, representing Afghanistan's diverse social and political spectrum. Federica Mogherini and President Ghani confirmed that they would continue working together on all these points.
The Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad also met the Afghan President on the same venue. The two leaders discussed a range of issues including expanding bilateral relations and Afghan government owned and led peace process.
In the series of these meetings, Secretary of State for Defense of the UK Gavin Williamson also met President Ghani. The two leaders discussed bilateral security cooperation and joint counterterrorism efforts to eliminate the threat that challenges not only Afghanistan, but the entire world.
President Ghani also met Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, on the sidelines of the MSC. They discussed security and counterterrorism cooperation in the region, and the UAE’s support for Afghan government led and owned peace process.
A day earlier, President Ghani met the U.S Special Envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, and the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdul Aziz Kamilov at the MSC.
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