Minister of external affairs S Jaishankar on Friday met Afghan peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah and assured that India was committed to peace, prosperity and stability in the neighbouring country.
The two leaders also discussed bilateral cooperation and regional issues during the meeting. “Pleased to meet Chairman HCNR @DrabdullahCE. A good discussion on our bilateral cooperation and regional issues. Welcomed his insights and perspectives on recent developments. As a neighbour, India remains committed to peace, prosperity and stability in Afghanistan,” Jaishankar wrote on Twitter after meeting the Abdullah, who is the chairperson of High Council for National Reconciliation, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
Abdullah too took to Twitter and said that the two leaders also talked about the Afghan peace process apart from bilateral ties and regional issues. “As always pleased to meet HE @DrSJaishankar, the External Affairs Minister of India. We exchanged views on the #AfghanPeaceProcess, bilateral relations, & regional support for peace efforts. He assured me of India’s full support for peace in Afghanistan,” he tweeted.
Jaishankar’s meeting with Abdullah comes after the Afghan leader met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to brief him on the peace process and the talks currently being held by his country’s government and the Taliban at Doha in Qatar.
Before meeting Modi, he also met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Wednesday. Doval told Abdullah that India favours a democratic and sovereign Afghanistan “where no terrorists can operate”.
Abdullah is in India for a five-day visit, which began on Tuesday, as part of an outreach to key countries in the region for seeking support for the negotiations in Doha. He travelled to New Delhi after a three-day visit to Islamabad last week.
