India, Central Asian nations back inclusive Afghan peace process

India and the five Central Asia nations of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan on Sunday backed an inclusive peace process in Afghanistan that is Afghan-owned and Afghan-led following the first ever India-Central Asia Dialogue here.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj co-chaired the Dialogue that was also attended by the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan.

   

“India … reiterates its support and commitment to peace, security and stability of Afghanistan; to promote inclusive Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled peace and reconciliation process and to assist in economic reconstruction of Afghanistan,” she told the media after the Dialogue.

“I pointed out that no business development, no investment can take place in a country suffering from terrorism,” she said. “To promote business development in our region, we agreed to fight the scourge of terrorism together.”

Though New Delhi, as a policy, does not hold talks with the Taliban, it has indicated that it supports an inclusive peace process in Afghanistan.

India and the US earlier this week discussed the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan during a meeting between SushmaSwaraj and US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy on Afghanistan ZalmayKhalilzad.

Khalilzad’s visit for an intra-Afghan political settlement reflects New Delhi’s stand that it is for an “Afghan-owned, Afghan-led and Afghan-controlled” peace and reconciliation process. IANS

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