Government-Taliban meeting ends with joint statement to continue talks and speed up peace talks

The two-day meeting of representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, ended with a statement.

The final statement of the meeting reads: The high-ranking leaders of Afghanistan spoke from July 17 to 18, 2021, hosted by the Qatari government in Doha (Qatar). They agreed on the need to speed up negotiations in order to find a just and lasting solution to the Afghan conflict as soon as possible.

The joint statement of the Taliban and the Afghan government states that they understand the need for an agreement that meets the interests and aspirations of all Afghan men and women in the light of Islamic principles.

The statement added that they are committed to reaching an agreement and will continue to hold such meetings in the future in order to achieve this goal. At the same time, the senior leaders of the two sides led their negotiating teams to speed up the negotiation process.

According to the statement, all parties ensure that the country’s infrastructure is protected throughout Afghanistan, prevent civilian casualties and cooperate on humanitarian assistance. Due to the significant spread of the Covid 19 pandemic throughout Afghanistan, all appropriate measures will be taken to ensure the safety of the vaccinating team and to ensure transparency in the logistics of oxygen supplies and other essentials for the treatment of people with Covid 19 without any obstacles.

The meeting ended with a formal announcement that the two sides were expected to agree on at least a temporary ceasefire on Eid al-Adha.