Pakistan will participate in a key international conference on Afghan peace and development being held in Geneva on Nov 27-28, officials said on Saturday. Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua will lead a high-level Pakistani delegation at the event.
According to the UN office in Kabul, the goal of the conference is to express solidarity with the Afghan people and the government in their efforts for peace and prosperity and for the Afghan government to renew its commitment to development and reform. “This is a crucial moment for the Afghan government and the international community to demonstrate progress and commitment, and maintain the momentum for elections and opportunities for peace,” the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.
The conference will also be an opportunity to emphasise the importance of the development and reform agenda and the need to advance it as a constructive contribution to peace and security, the UNAMA said on its website. The conference will also be crucial in measuring results against the $15.2 billion committed by the international community for Afghanistan in 2016.
The Geneva conference on Afghanistan will be held between two pledging conferences: the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan (2016) and the next pledging conference expected to be held in 2020.
“Pakistan attends every process and conference which helps in peace, security and development in Afghanistan,” an official told Daily Times. A Pakistani delegate will also speak during a side event on ‘people on the move’ focussing on the refugees. Pakistan still hosts nearly 2.4 million Afghans, now divided into three categories: registered with proof of registration cards; those documented recently and have Afghan Citizenship Cards; and the undocumented.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, first lady Rula Ghani, Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, Finance Minister Humayon Qayoui, Special Representative of UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto, High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and representatives of the USAID, JICA, WFP, WTO and IOM will attend the conference. There will be side meetings on fight against corruption, growth development, human rights, regional connectivity and infrastructure, Afghanistan SDGs and women peace process. A joint communiqué will also be issued at the end of the conference.
Published in Daily Times, November 25th 2018.
