Dawn.com, Washington :
US President Barack Obama has assured his Afghan counterpart of Washington’s continued support for the Afghan-led peace process.
On Wednesday evening, Mr Obama held a video conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the country’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Abdullah Abdullah.
The US president “applauded President Ghani for his efforts to advance reconciliation” with the Taliban rebels and to “improve regional economic connectivity”, the White House said.
Since President Ghani came to power early last year, the Afghan government has made several attempts to engage the Taliban and has also significantly improved its relations with Pakistan.
Early this month, Pakistan hosted the first direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban leaders in Murree. The United States, China and Pakistan also participated in this meeting.
The White House said that in their video conference, US and Afghan presidents “discussed the need to encourage regional cooperation to counter terrorist threats” and Mr Obama “offered continued US support for the Afghan-led peace process”.
The conversation focused on Afghanistan’s national security and defence issues.
A statement issued by the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, said President Obama praised Afghanistan’s progress on “efforts to curb corruption and revive the economy”, the two necessary components of a durable peace in Afghanistan.
The leaders reviewed various proposals to strengthen Afghan National Security and Defence Forces as the US continues to help counter threats to the country.
Meanwhile, the next round of peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents is scheduled for the end of July, officials said Friday, with the venue for the meeting still unconfirmed.
“The second round of talks… is set for July 30 or 31,” said Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar, a member of the Afghan High Peace Council (HPC), the government’s top peace negotiating body.
Read More: First round of Afghan govt, Taliban dialogue concludes in Murree.
