GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2020) Participants of the two-day international ministerial pledging conference on Afghanistan, which came to an end on Tuesday, agreed to meet again in 2022, according to the event's communique.
"We look forward to a Senior Officials Meeting in 2021 and a biennial ministerial meeting in 2022 to review progress as Afghanistan is approaching the end of its Transformation Decade," the communique read.
The participants have welcomed the negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban, which got underway in the Qatari capital of Doha on September 12.
"We acknowledge that significant progress in the peace negotiations in the spirit of the United Nations Security Council resolution 2513 is a key factor for the delisting within the United Nations Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1988(2011)," the statement said.
The document also stressed the importance of continuing to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, supporting cooperation between Kabul and neighboring countries for the state's sustainable development, and continuing the fight against terrorism in the country.
"We further express deep concern about the threat posed by terrorism to Afghanistan and the region, express serious concern over the continuing presence of ISIL, Al-Qaida [terror organizations banned in Russia] as well as other international terrorist organizations and their affiliated groups in Afghanistan," the communique added.
The conference participants also reiterated that the territory of Afghanistan should not be used by militant groups for threats or attacks on any other country.
The 2020 Afghanistan Conference was held in Geneva on November 23-24. It was co-hosted by the Afghan and Finnish governments as well as the United Nations. Representatives of 66 countries and 32 international organizations took part in the event. Participants have pledged over $3 billion in funding for the next year, and expect annual commitments at about the same level through 2024.
