China hosts third multinational meeting on Afghanistan

Asia-Pacific, News March 31, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Foreign ministers of Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan attended the meeting

China hosted two multinational meetings in the Huangshan City of Tunxi to discuss the economic and humanitarian crisis facing Afghanistan and the security and stability situation.

Foreign ministers and diplomats of Afghanistan’s immediate neighbors – Pakistan, Russia, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – attended the meeting as part of a diplomatic push for the country’s stability and development. Afghan acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also attended the two-day meeting (March 30-31). Indonesia and Qatar also attended the meeting.

President Xi calls for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan

Chinese President Xi Jinping also delivered written remarks at the third Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan, held in Tunxi in east China’s Anhui Province. “Afghanistan is a common neighbor and partner of all participating countries,” he said. “We form a community with a shared future linked by the same mountains and rivers who would rise and fall together.”

A peaceful, stable, developing and prosperous Afghanistan is the aspiration of all the Afghan people and is the common interests of regional countries and the international community, he said. China always respects Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and has committed to supporting its pursuit of peace, stability and development, he added.

Highlights of the joint statement

The joint statement issued at the conclusion of the third multinational meeting on Afghanistan focused on these areas:

Political and diplomatic fields
Economic and humanitarian fields
Counter-terrorism and security
Refugees
Institution building

^{Foreign ministers of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan at the third Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan, held in Tunxi in east China’s Anhui Province. (Image Credit: Pakistan Foreign Office)}

Political: The participating countries “reaffirmed respect for the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity of Afghanistan, support for the Afghan people in independently deciding the future of their country, and support for the basic principle of “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned”. They urged the countries “responsible for the current predicament in Afghanistan to earnestly fulfill commitments on the economic recovery and future development of Afghanistan.”

The foreign ministers stressed that “a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan serves the common interests of regional countries and Afghanistan”, and urged dialogue and negotiation to achieve national reconciliation.

Economic: The neighboring countries expressed “deep concern over the humanitarian situation, economic and livelihood plight in Afghanistan” and announced readiness to provide further humanitarian assistance including medical equipment to the people of Afghanistan. They also expressed support for the economic recovery of Afghanistan with exchanges and cooperation with Afghanistan in fields such as trade and economy, energy, agriculture, finance, connectivity and infrastructure, to help Afghanistan build capacity.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to deepen cooperation within Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and other regional cooperation organizations to include Afghanistan in the regional connectivity, energy and transport networks, economic and trade systems.

Counter-terrorism and security: The foreign ministers described terrorism as “a key factor affecting stability in Afghanistan, condemned all forms of violence and terrorist attacks, and reiterated that ISIS, Al-Qaeda, ETIM, TTP, BLA, Jondollah, Jaish-Al-Adl, Jamaat Ansarullah, IMU and other terrorist organizations must not be given any place on the Afghan territory.”

They called upon Afghan officials to undertake steps “to make a clean break with all forms of terrorist forces, monitor free movement of all terrorist organizations, and to firmly fight and eliminate them including through dismantling of their training camps, to ensure that Afghanistan would never again serve as a breeding ground, safe haven or source of proliferation for terrorism.” Afghan officials were also asked to take concrete actions against the cultivation, production and illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs.

Refugees: The neighboring countries expressed concern over the situation of the Afghan refugees and internally displaced people. They appreciated the efforts made by the regional countries, in particular Pakistan and Iran, on the issue of Afghan refugees and called on the international community to support the timely return of Afghan refugees with dignity and honor.

Institution building: At the summit, they also announced the launch of a mechanism for regular consultations among special envoys/special representatives for Afghanistan of the neighboring countries and three working groups namely political and diplomatic, economic and humanitarian, security and stability.

The fourth Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in the first quarter of 2023.

^{The special envoy for Afghan affairs of the Chinese foreign ministry Yue Xiaoyong hosts senior officials from the U.S., Russia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan during the Extended Troika Meeting. (Image Credit: CCTV-13 News/CGTN)}

Extended Troika meeting

Meanwhile, a separate meeting of the “extended troika” included special envoys from China, the United States and Russia. Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong chaired the meeting which was attended by Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, Russia’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov and Pakistan’s special representation for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq.