MOSCOW: Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday that the upcoming Moscow format meeting will focus on discussing strategies to address challenges facing Afghanistan.
Lavrov said that the meeting will delve into the actions neighboring nations can take to tackle the problems of Afghanistan. Among the primary concerns voiced by Afghanistan nationals are poverty, the lack of access to education, and restrictions on the rights and opportunities of women and girls.
Scheduled to convene in Kazan, Russia, by the week’s end, the Moscow format meeting will involve Afghanistan’s neighboring nations, including China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia, along with several other countries.
Lavrov said that the Moscow format will be held in Kazan [Volga region] instead of the capital Moscow. Russia expected to discuss how neighboring nations can help Afghanistan overcome its current issues.
Russia’s special representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov underlined that inclusive governance, counter-terrorism strategies, and counter-drug efforts, will be pivotal topics on the agenda for the 6th Moscow format meeting.
Afghanistan’s Problems
The people of Afghanistan continue to grapple with pressing problems such as unemployment, poverty, the ongoing closure of schools for girls and women, and the prohibition of females’ work in non-governmental organizations. Calls for global support to address these challenges persist.
Nevertheless, questions loom regarding how the Taliban will engage with the global community to resolve the issues of Afghanistan. Some political experts contend that the Taliban’s stance on addressing these issues has remained largely unchanged over the past two years.
Russia’s active involvement in the political landscape of Afghanistan is highlighted by its hosting of such meetings. The Taliban has confirmed its participation in the gathering, with Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban’s acting foreign minister, set to represent the group.
The Moscow format meetings were started in 2017. While two format meetings occurred prior to the Taliban’s return to Kabul, Russia has since convened 3 more meetings under the Moscow format following the Taliban’s resurgence.
