Afghan Foreign Affairs minister meets with EAM Jaishankar

Mohammad Haneef Atmar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan on Monday met with Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the Hyderabad House.

Mohammad Haneef Atmar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghstan on Monday met with Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the Hyderabad House.

Atmar arrived at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in New Delhi on Monday. He was received by an Indian diplomat upon his arrival.

Under the Vaccine Maitri initiative, India had earlier sent Covid- -19 vaccine supplies to Afghstan to aid its fight against the virus.

"Welcomed Mohammad Haneef Atmar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghstan. Detailed conversation on the peace process," Jaishankar wrote in a tweet.

He added, "Also exchanged views on our bilateral cooperation and development partnership."

According to spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, the two leaders discussed taking India-Afghstan Strategic Partnership forward.

"EAM S Jaishankar warmly welcomed Haneef Atmar. Issues of bilateral & regional interest including development cooperation, trade & investment, regional connectivity, security cooperation and peace process were discussed," he wrote in a tweet.

Atmar is expected to brief Jaishankar on results of last week's Moscow conference on Afghstan.

"Arrived in beautiful & historic city of Delhi for a 3-day working visit. Look forward to holding talks with FM @DrSJaishankar & senior govt officials of India on #AfghanPeaceProcess, upcoming regional forums on peace & development of Afghstan, security & economic cooperation," Atmar said on Twitter.

According to Sputnik, the Moscow-sponsored meeting brought together the extended troika -- Russia, China, the United States and Pakistan -- as well as Afghan political forces and the Taliban.

In the joint statement after the talks, the four major foreign stakeholders urged the Afghan warring sides to reduce violence and immediately engage in discussions on fundamental issues to resolve the conflict.

The talks were meant to revitalize the Doha peace talks and set the scene for a US-sponsored conference in Turkey in April, in which India is one of the invitees along with Russia, China, India, Iran and Pakistan.

Last February, the Taliban and the Afghan government reached a landmark agreement, mediated by the United States, paving the way for peace talks, which began in the Qatari capital of Doha on September 12, 2020.

The Doha negotiations failed to put an end to the confrontation on the ground. On the contrary, Afghstan has witnessed a spate of bomb attacks and clashes in recent months, with the military continuing to regularly conduct operations against Taliban operatives.

( With inputs from ANI )