Tajikistan convened a meeting of the heads of the National Security Councils of eight nations in Dushanbe on May 27 for the “Regional Security Dialogue” on Afghanistan. This was the fourth meeting of the process and the two first meeting were hosted by Iran and the third one was hosted by India.
The meeting participants included heads of National Security Councils of Tajikistan (Nasrullo Mahmoudzoda), India (Ajit Doval), Iran (Ali Shamkhani), Kazakhstan (Aset Isekshev), Kyrgyzstan (Marat Imonkulov, Russia (Nikolai Patrushev), Uzbekistan (Viktor Mahmoudov) and External Security Commissioner of China’s Foreign Ministry Cheng Guoping. The meeting was attended by advisers and secretaries of the National Security Council of India, China, Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
Media reports say that taking forward the discussions in the Delhi Declaration, the meeting participants discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the region. They highlighted the need to find constructive ways to ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan and combating risks from terrorism emanating from the region.
Indian media reports note that speaking at the meeting, national security advisor Ajit Doval said that India called for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan and strengthening of the war-torn country’s capability to counter terrorism and terror groups that pose a threat to regional peace and security.
Doval made it clear that India “was and is an important stakeholder in Afghanistan” and the country’s special relationship with the Afghan people over centuries will guide its approach to the situation and “nothing can change this,” Hindustan Times reported.
Iranian media reports say Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhan noted that the that some regional and extra-regional countries are transferring Takfiri terrorists to Afghanistan.
Shamkhani said that Iran has always been seeking to help establish peace and security in Afghanistan, which he believed would ensure welfare and development for the Afghan people and the entire region, according to IRNA.
Iranian official reportedly noted that wrong and expansionist policies of the United States are the main cause of the 20-year war in Afghanistan and the war in Ukraine.
The US has to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and compensate for the damages inflicted to the people of the country, he said.
Shamkhani cautioned that there are clues that some regional and extra-regional countries are dispatching terrorist groups to Afghanistan.
He believed that in order to be able to efficiently deal with such problems, the Afghan ruling government has to carry out its duties.
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev noted that multilateral meetings of the national security council secretaries on the Afghan problem are an important format allowing to discuss the whole range of problem related to the latest developments in Afghanistan at high level and develop coordinated approaches to addressing challenges and threats emanating from the territory of this country, according to the official website of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
“We hope that this practice will continue in the future. At the same time, it is necessary to step up work across the entire spectrum of international dialogue mechanisms on the afghan problem, created and operating with the leading role of our countries,” Patrushev was quoted as saying.
Following the series of meetings, an important joint statement called “Dushanbe Declaration on Afghanistan” was released, which stated that the participants of the fourth Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan “held a detailed exchange of views on the current situation in Afghanistan and stressed that peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is in the common interest of the countries of the region and international community.
