KABUL - The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Mohammad Haneef Atmar heading a high-ranking government delegation, left Kabul for New Delhi this morning, the 22nd of March, 2021.

The purpose of Mr. Atmar and his accompanying delegation's visit to India is to discuss bilateral relations, strengthen regional and international consensus on the Afghan peace process, and enhance cooperation in security, economic, political and cultural areas.

During his three-day visit to New Delhi, Mr. Atmar is scheduled to meet with Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar Minister of External Affairs of India, and a number of high-ranking Indian government officials, including the country's National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, to discuss and exchange views on a range of issues of common interest between the two countries.

During his visit to Delhi, the Foreign Minister will also meet former ambassadors of India to Afghanistan, students, businessmen, Afghan-Hindu representatives and a number of Afghan refugees living in India.

The following statement was released by the Governments of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the United States of America on the occasion of a trilateral discussion among Afghanistan – Tajikistan – and the United States.

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Representatives of the Governments of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the United States of America convened via video conference on March 17 to discuss issues of mutual importance, including the Afghanistan Peace Negotiations and regional security.  The meeting was co-chaired by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale, Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammed Haneef Atmar, and Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin.

Participants reaffirmed their shared commitment to partnership, cooperation, and collaboration to promote prosperity, security, and peace in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, as well as prosperity across and throughout Central Asia.  The participants:

• Call on countries of the Central Asian region and the international community to support the Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace negotiations for a united, sovereign, stable, democratic, secure, inclusive, and self-reliant Afghanistan; at peace with itself and its neighbors;

• Seek to preserve the economic, social, political, and development achievements of the last two decades, and intend to build upon those gains with regards to human rights, especially women’s rights;

• Express their concerns over the increased level of violence and targeted killings and highlight the urgent need for a reduction in violence leading to a ceasefire to end the violence;

• Seek greater trilateral cooperation in the security, political, people-to-people, energy, and economic realms;

• Intend to increase regional cooperation, information sharing and border security, and coordination to counter terrorist threats;

• Plan to improve mutual efforts to combat cross-border threats and address issues of drug trafficking and the movement of illicit materials, including through strengthened cooperation between Tajik and Afghan authorities at border crossing points;

• Recognize the United States intends to continue providing assistance in capacity building of the border security and counter-narcotics forces of the two countries. Also, the United States intends to provide training and technical assistance in risk management for Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

• Plan to expand the reach of cultural and educational exchanges and network building efforts;

• Support increasing English-language proficiency to expand access to English-based information sources, counter disinformation, and provide greater economic opportunity throughout the region and internationally;

• Aim to enhance participation in people-to-people programs, such as the C5+1 Youth Council, to build on the linkages between the peoples of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and the United States and encourage the countries’ future leaders to come together to create solutions to shared challenges;

• Support the continuation of regional energy infrastructure projects, such as CASA-1000 (Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project) and electricity transmission projects. These projects should prioritize increasing electrical connectivity, regional cooperation, provide transit revenues, and clean, reliable energy to Afghanistan and countries in Central Asia;

• Will discuss how to enhance connectivity between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, including through the construction of new transportation routes, such as railways, and through the improvement of international transportation mechanisms, including expanded usage of the TIR system;

• Promote trade by supporting efforts to implement international agreements that ease nontariff barriers to trade, such as the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement;
• Seek opportunities to expand business-to-business connections between Afghan and Tajik enterprises that open new markets and promote greater prosperity on both sides of the border;

• Intend to participate in environmental protection programs that target climate change, wildlife conservation, and water and air quality; and

• Seek to explore organizing a Trilateral Business Forum to encourage partnership between the private sectors of the Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and the United States

The Participants noted their commitment to continued trilateral cooperation and partnership, including high-level, in-person consultations when public health conditions permit.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan welcomes the final joint statement of extensive "Troika" peace talks in Moscow, calling it a step forward towards serious negotiations to achieve a lasting peace commensurate with the will of the Afghan people.

We welcome the statement's emphasis on the UN Security Council Resolution 2513 and consider its implementation important for holding the Taliban responsible and accountable for fulfilling their obligations, including ending violence and targeted killings and severing ties with terrorist organizations. As noted by the statement, Afghanistan's territory must not be used by individuals or terrorist groups to threaten the security of other countries.

The Afghan Government has always emphasized a peaceful settlement that can lead to a just and lasting peace, and on a free, independent, united, peaceful, democratic, and self-sufficient Afghanistan that is at peace with itself and its neighbors. We are delighted that this aspiration of the Afghan Government and people has also been reflected in the Moscow statement.

We also support the statement's emphasis on a political solution that protects our citizen rights and affirm that the preservation of political, economic, and cultural achievements, including the human rights of citizens and democratic institutions, is the most important prerequisite for achieving a just and lasting peace in the country.

The Afghan Government welcomes the statement's candidness stating that: "we do not support the restoration of the Islamic Emirate ..." and stresses upon the principle that the "Islamic Republic" is the only inclusive and acceptable structure for ensuring political participation, pluralism, citizen equality and preserving law and order in a diverse and pluralistic society like Afghanistan.

While supporting the Moscow meeting's final statement, we reaffirm that the Government of the IRoA is committed to engaging in substantive and serious negotiations on key issues, including establishing a ceasefire and achieving a comprehensive political settlement that ends the war and brings about sustainable peace in the country.

We support and commend the efforts of all countries in the region and the world to ensure peace in Afghanistan and acknowledge the significance of the United Nations role in strengthening the peace process. We also wish to thank Qatar, Russia, and Turkey for hosting the talks.

KABUL - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan appreciates efforts made by our neighboring countries and regional and international partners for peace and emphasizes the importance of continuing these efforts and cooperation.

Appreciating the importance of the Troika meeting on Afghanistan peace in Moscow and the proposed peace conference in Turkey, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers them complementary to the Afghanistan Peace Negotiations in Doha and not as a substitute to it.

The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is currently engaged in negotiation with the Taliban delegation in Doha and these negotiations will continue in the future.

Afghanistan appreciates the sincere efforts of the Qatari government to support peace in Afghanistan, especially the hosting of peace talks between the delegations of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban, and hopes that these joint efforts will yield desired results.

KABUL – Mohammad Hanif Atmar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, met the new president of American University of Afghanistan, Mr. Ian Bickford along with Mr. David Sedney, the previous AUAF president.

In this meeting, Minister Atmar shared the preferences of the Ministry, directing towards the academic programs, including the business pivot and creating a regional expert. Minister Atmar did express the need of creating and expanding the cooperation of arranging educational and theoretical programs, utilizing the experiences and knowledge of both, American University of Afghanistan and the Diplomacy Institute of Foreign Affairs. An MoU should be signed as well.

Afterwards, Mr. Bickford welcomed the cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for providing opportunities in academic and scientific/theoretical fields and the preparation of working together on organizing joint educational programs with the collaboration of the Diplomacy Institute."

In the meeting, it is understood that both teams will start preparing for organizing educational programs including Masters degree and signing an MoU in the near future.

KABUL – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the IRoA strongly welcomes the U.N. Security Council statement condemning in the strongest terms “the alarming number of attacks deliberately targeting civilians in Afghanistan.”

As the statement rightly notes, heinous attacks against civil servants, media, judiciary, human rights defenders, prominent women figures, humanitarian and health workers have increased following the start of the Afghanistan peace negotiations.

The Security Council members also called for an immediate end to targeted attacks and “stressed the urgent and imperative need to bring the perpetrators to justice.”

The UNSC statement once again confirms the rightful demands and positions of the people and government of Afghanistan. We reiterate that cessation of violence, ending targeted killings, and establishing a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire would lay the foundation for a political settlement and achieving sustainable peace in Afghanistan.

To this end, we welcome the UNSC statement that stresses the need for “full, equal and meaningful participation of women” in the peace process, “a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire,” and “an inclusive political settlement to end the conflict in Afghanistan.”

KABUL - Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar met with his Danish counterpart Jeppe Kofod via video conference on Thursday evening.

The two sides discussed the finalization of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the two countries, advancing the Afghan peace process, good governance, and the continuation of Denmark's valuable assistance to Afghanistan.

Calling Denmark a valued partner, Mr. Atmar honored the sacrifices of Danish soldiers and expressed gratitude for Denmark's humanitarian and development assistance to Afghanistan over the past 20 years.

Discussing good governance, Minister Atmar assured Danish Foreign Minister that Kabul was committed to combating corruption and spending international aid transparently, effectively, and responsibly.

Referring to the endstate of the Afghan peace process, Minister Atmar stated that the Government of the IRoA believed in a political settlement supported by the Afghan nation and international community, and that can lead to lasting and sustainable peace.

Expressing his government's strong support for the peace process, Foreign Minister Kofod said that Afghanistan must not become a terrorist haven again. Emphasizing the preservation of Afghanistan's democratic and human rights achievements, Mr. Kofod added that we must "avoid putting progress and sacrifices at risk." He assured the Afghan Foreign Minister of Denmark's continued commitment to the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.

KABUL – A consultative meeting aimed at preparations for the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process, co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Mirwais Nab and Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to Kabul Dr. Sa’di Sharifi, was held today at the Storay Palace of the MoFA.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of organizations and ambassadors of supporting countries of the Heart of Asia- Istanbul Process.

At the outset of the meeting, Deputy Minister Nab stressed the importance of regional and global consensus in supporting the Afghan peace process and thanked the countries and organizations supporting the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process for their sympathies with the government and people of Afghanistan in connection with the killing of women, journalists and civil society activists. Mr. Nab also briefed the participants about the arrangements and preparations for the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process scheduled to take place on the 30th of March 2021 in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

The Tajik Ambassador to Kabul reaffirmed his country's support for the peace process and the Afghan government's efforts thereof, and reassured the participants of Tajikistan’s readiness to host the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process in Dushanbe.

Meanwhile, discussing the joint declaration of the said conference, the participants underlined the importance of convening the Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference under the current circumstances in Afghanistan promising to share the perspectives of their respective countries with the Afghan MoFA regarding the declaration in the near future.

KABUL – The second ambassadorial consultative meeting aimed at preparations for the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process, co-chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Mirwais Nab and Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to Kabul Dr. Sa’di Sharifi, was held today at the Storay Palace of the MoFA.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Political) for Afghanistan Ms. Mette Knudsen and Ambassadors of the member states of the Heart of Asia- Istanbul Process.

Deputy Minister Nab welcomed the participants and spoke about his recent visit to the Republic of Tajikistan and the necessary arrangements for convening the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process in Dushanbe.

The participants termed important the convening of Heart of Asia conference under the current circumstances in Afghanistan, for discussing the Afghan peace negotiations and strengthening regional and global consensus in support of the peace process. They also debated over the joint declaration of the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process scheduled to take place on the 30th of March 2021 in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

KABUL – The Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Haneef Atmar met this afternoon with Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Kabul, Mr. Ole Andreas Lindeman.

Mr. Atmar appreciated Norway's cooperation with Afghanistan over the past two decades and its support for the peace process, human rights, women's rights and the rule of law in the country.

The two sides discussed the Afghan government's preparations for the renewal of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the two countries and the continuation of cooperation within the framework of the said agreement.

The Norwegian Ambassador termed the renewal of the agreement important for the continuation of partnership between the two countries, and assured Mr. Atmar of Norway’s continued support for the Afghan peace talks.