KABUL/TEHRAN (SW) – On Saturday, the second meeting of the regional contact group for Afghanistan has been held in Tehran, the capital of Iran, with representatives from Iran, Russia, China, and Pakistan in attendance.
Seyed Rasoul Mousavi, the Deputy Foreign Minister and Director-General of South Asia at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that this meeting signifies a message of peace, stability, and development for Afghanistan and the region through regional cooperation and convergence.
He reiterated the call for the establishment of a comprehensive government in Afghanistan, as expressed by Ali Bagheri, the Acting Foreign Minister of Iran.
Mousavi emphasized, “The diverse population of Afghanistan and the neighboring countries and the region have the hope that more political stability will be provided with the greater participation of the people of Afghanistan and different ethnic groups and strata, and the attention of a comprehensive government is in the statements of the countries of the region in this direction.”
However, on Saturday, Zaker Jalali, the third political head of the de-facto government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mentioned in a post in his official X account that despite the invitation, the Islamic Emirate does not participate in the regional contact group meeting.
According to him, the Islamic Emirate expects these meetings regarding Afghanistan to be conducted through customary and appropriate mechanisms.
Bilal Fatemi, an international relations expert, highlights that holding such meetings without representation from the Islamic Emirate may not have significant results.
“The regional contact group meeting is related to Afghanistan, and it should be held with Afghanistan’s involvement. The issues of Afghanistan are pressing and there is work to be done. Saying that Iran wanted and there is no representative from Afghanistan, does not have any results,” he stressed.
It is worth mentioning that the first meeting of the regional contact group for Afghanistan was held in Kabul last year, attended by special representatives from regional countries and Afghanistan’s neighbors.
