India, Russia, China call for formation of inclusive Afghan govt

Virtually addressing a meeting held under the trilateral framework, he said the RIC countries must coordinate their respective approaches towards terrorism, radicalisation and drug trafficking.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov were present at the meeting.

Chaired the 18th RIC Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Discussed contemporary global issues. Highlighted that:

1. Covid-19 pandemic has alerted us to the need for more reliable global supply chains, especially in health. pic.twitter.com/AoOF4KSKkv

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) November 26, 2021

All three foreign ministers reaffirmed their support for an “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process”.

The ministers stressed on the necessity of “urgent elimination” of terror groups such as Al Qaeda and IS for lasting peace in Afghanistan and the region, a joint communique said.

The communique, issued after the talks, said the ministers called for the formation of an inclusive government that represents all the major ethnic and political groups of the country, and emphasised on the central role of the UN in that country.

“They reaffirmed the importance of ensuring that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used to threaten or attack any other country and that no Afghan group or individual should support terrorists operating on the territory of any other country,” it added.

Expressing concerns regarding the dramatic change of the situation in Afghanistan, the ministers advocated a peaceful and inclusive Afghanistan that exists in harmony with its neighbours.

“They called on the Taliban to take actions in accordance with the results of all the recently held international and regional formats of interaction on Afghanistan, including the UN Resolutions on Afghanistan,” the communique said.

“Expressing concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, the Ministers called for immediate and unhindered humanitarian assistance to be provided to Afghanistan. The Ministers also emphasised the central role of UN in Afghanistan,” the joint statement said.

Jaishankar, Wang and Lavrov also condemned terrorism in all its manifestations and said that it must be comprehensively countered to achieve a world free of terrorism.

As a contiguous neighbour and long-standing partner of Afghanistan, India is concerned about the recent developments in that country, especially the suffering of the Afghan people, Jaishankar said.

“In line with our commitment to the well-being of Afghan people, we have offered supply of 50,000 MT of wheat to Afghanistan to address the drought situation,” he said.

“The RIC countries need to work together to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches the Afghan people without hindrance and without politicisation,” he added.