Afghanistan, China, US hold trilateral High-Level meeting in NY

The United States urged China to play its effective role on bringing peace, stability and strengthening the economy of its near neighbor Afghanistan.

Afghanistan, China, and the U.S. hold a high-level meeting in New York on Saturday at the sideline of the UN general assembly meeting.

The International community headed by the U.S. is trying to encourage China to play a vital role to provide security and economic development for Afghanistan and the region.

US Secretary of State John Kerry during his remarks at the trilateral session emphasized on the international community commitment for Afghanistan and added, “We welcome China’s participation, particularly as a near neighbor and as a country that understands very, very deeply the crosscurrents that are at stake in Afghanistan today.”

“The United States welcomes China’s engagement and we work to support President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah as they strive to build a more stable, united, secure and prosperous Afghanistan,” Kerry said.

High ranking officials from the region and the world countries including Sartaj Aziz Pakistan’s National Security and Foreign Relations Adviser, Jawad Zarif Iran’s Foreign Minister were participated in the session.

Kerry added,” the Afghan people are still threatened by the Taliban, and other violent extremists have entered the fray”.

He says Afghanistan’s governing and judicial institutions still need to be strengthened and the country is still facing with economy, corruption and human right challenges.

Meanwhile Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China and the United States have exchanged views on Afghanistan and the President of both countries have pledged their support for Afghanistan’s peaceful reconstruction and china will play its part.

“This year marks the first year of Afghanistan’s decade-long transformation period, and it faces an important opportunity to achieve unity, stability, peace, and reconstruction,” Wang said,” the Afghan people, having suffered enormously from conflict, aspire for enduring peace and prosperity in their country, the first priority should be on improving the people’s livelihood, developing the economy, constructing infrastructure so as to create the necessary conditions for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Wang added,” Only by effectively promoting the peace and reconstruction process, as well as regional connectivity and economic integration in the region, can the Afghan people truly enjoy a prosperous and happy life and share in the peace and development of the region”.

Pointing to Kabul – Islamabad relations China’s foreign minister stated that the international community need to support Afghanistan in developing good relations with its neighbors that will contribute to a peaceful and stable regional environment.

At the same time Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah commended US-China result-oriented diplomacy and constructive leadership in regards to issues surrounding Afghanistan and its neighbors.

“We believe that both Afghanistan and neighboring countries, especially Pakistan, can do much more to deal with the threats posed to nation-states, legitimate governments, and society as a whole by radical terrorist groups that use violence to impose their will.” Abdullah said, “At the same time, at some point, hopefully fast, we would need to reconsider our options as well as opportunities before us, which bring us back to the paradigm shift that is required to assure peace and progress in South and Central Asian region.”

Afghan leader Abdullah welcomed the next ministerial meeting of Heart of Asia in Islamabad by the end of 2015, and said that we look forward to the adoption of a roadmap with clear benchmarks for collective action against terrorism, radicalization, and organized crime.

He also said,” We will do everything in our capacity to protect our people and to defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity” though we seek peace and stability.

It is widely believed that China can play a key role to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan by using its influence over Pakistan and by supporting investment and economical sectors in Afghanistan, but still the insurgents are operating in the war-torn country and Afghanistan has a poor economy.

Reported by: Sharif Hassanyar