Associating closely for reconciliation efforts; India, China closely work to bring peace in Afghanistan
New Delhi, May 11: India has always shown a positive cooperation with its close ally Afghanistan in peace process. Engaging for the same cause, India and China have agreed to closely work on the ongoing efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan. The decision was taken after Chinese Special Envoy Ambassador Deng Xijun visited India.
Coming together to sway peace process in Afghanistan was an initiative taken by the US to talk to the Taliban to persuade them to lay down arms and end violence in the country. Indian foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar in a Twitter post on Friday said Chinese Special Envoy Ambassador Deng Xijun was on a visit to New Delhi and held talks on the subject with Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale.
In a tweet, Raveesh Kumar said, “Chinese Special Envoy Ambassador Deng Xijun today held discussions with Indian officials on the situation in Afghanistan, including peace and reconciliation efforts. He also called on Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale.”
He added, “The two sides agreed to consult closely on the evolving situation in Afghanistan and carry forward the decision taken by the leadership of the two countries on joint cooperation in Afghanistan.”
One of the subjects identified by India and China to boost mutual trust and confidence was cooperation on Afghanistan. The two countries had then spoken of jointly training Afghan diplomats, an initiative that the two countries have launched.
With the Afghan peace talks now underway in Qatar between the US and the Taliban, India has been hoping to coordinate its position with China and other countries in the region. This is to ensure that its interests are taken care of when the US pulls its troops out of the country after a 17 year deployment there. India is worried that the Taliban joining the government in Kabul could mean arch rival Pakistan getting a major say in governance in Afghanistan. The Taliban are seen as controlled by Pakistan.