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Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq. PHOTO: ARCHIVE
ISLAMABAD:
Iran will host a two-day conference in its capital on December 15-16 on Afghanistan. Special representatives from Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China and Russia are expected to attend the meeting.
Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Kabul Ubaid Ur Rehman Nizamani and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tehran Mudassir Tipu will attend.
Also participating will be the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, the Special Envoy of China for Afghanistan Affairs, Yu Xiaoyong, and representatives of the Presidents of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
Sources said Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi will address the meeting. At the end of the conference a joint statement will be issued.
The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that it will not participate in a regional meeting on Afghanistan, according to a report published by an Afghan media outlet. Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesperson for the ministry, said the Taliban had received an invitation but decided not to attend.
According to Takal, the decision was based on the Taliban’s view that Afghanistan already maintains active relations with countries in the region through existing regional organizations and cooperation frameworks, and has achieved what he described as significant progress in this regard.
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters that the Islamic Republic of Iran attaches fundamental importance to security and stability in its neighborhood.
