Top security officials of eight countries, including India, Iran and Russia, on Wednesday called for closer coordination and collective efforts to tackle threats such as terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and to address a looming humanitarian crisis.
In his opening remarks at the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan being hosted by India, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval said the time has come for closer consultations and greater coordination among regional countries to find solutions to recent developments in the war-torn country.
The NSAs and security council secretaries of Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, in their brief opening statements, pushed for collective efforts to cope with threats such as terrorism and drug trafficking emanating from Afghanistan and to provide humanitarian aid to the Afghan people before the onset of winter.
“We all have been keenly watching the developments in [Afghanistan]. These have important implications not only for the people of Afghanistan, but also for its neighbours and the region,” Doval said in his televised remarks.
“This is a time for close consultations among us, greater cooperation, interaction and coordination among the regional countries,” he said.
Though this is the first such meeting on Afghanistan to be convened by India, the dialogue is the continuation of a mechanism whereby Iran hosted two meets in 2018 and 2019.
Pakistan and China were invited to Wednesday’s meeting but opted not to participate.
India is looking to the dialogue to help forge a joint approach for tackling security threats emanating from Afghanistan.
According to an Indian assessment, the five main threats and challenges following the Taliban takeover on August 15 are terrorism within Afghanistan and across its borders, radicalisation and extremism, cross-border movements, drug production and trafficking, and the danger posed by vast amounts of weapons and military gear left behind by US troops.