Pajhwok receives no reports about casualties last week

KABUL (Pajhwok): Iran hosted a meeting on Afghanistan last week, when the Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce was opened in Kabul, and Germany, Japan and the European Union announced over $25.3 million in aid to Afghanistan.

Last week’s major events

• IEA did not attend Tehran meeting; Iran: It won’t affect ties.
• Health minister attends 2nd World Summit on Ayurveda
• Afghan, Indian officials discuss traditional medicine center in Kabul
• Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce opened in Kabul
• Afghan, Kyrgyz businessmen sign pacts worth $156m
• Germany, Japan, EU pledge over $25.3m million in aid

Casualties:

Pajhwok publishes reports about casualties in criminal and security related incidents every week, but it received no such reports in the past week.

In the previous week, local officials had said that two people were injured when an old mortar shell exploded in central Maidan Wardak province and a man in northern Jawzjan province killed his sister.

Before the regime change in August, 2021, hundreds of civilians, insurgents and security forces would get killed and injured every week in the country.

Tehran meeting on Afghanistan

Last week, special representatives of Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China and Russia attended a meeting on Afghanistan in Tehran, hosted by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Prior to the meeting, the Afghan Foreign Ministry had said that the Afghan government had also been invited to attend the meeting, but it would not attend.

When asked about the reason for not participating in the meeting, Zia Ahmad Takal, MoFA spokesman, said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan had continuous active relations with all regional countries through organizations, various formats, and bilateral mechanisms, and had made significant practical progress in the development of regional understanding and cooperation.

After the meeting, the Director General of South Asia at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Iran respected the IEA’s decision not to attend the meeting and that the non-participation of the Afghan representative would not affect relations and cooperation between the two countries.

According to reports, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in his opening remarks at the the meeting that security, development, and prosperity of Afghanistan were directly related to the interests of all neighboring countries.

Afghan delegation visits India

Last week, Afghan Public Health Minister Maulvi Noor Jalal Jalali visited India at the head of a delegation to strengthen health cooperation, exchange experiences, and organize joint efforts.

Indian Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda met with Jalali and announced the symbolic handover of anti-cancer drugs and vaccines to the Afghan side, saying that New Delhi was sending aid to Afghanistan, including drugs, vaccines, and a 128-slice CT scan machine.

Maulvi Jalali also attended the Second World Summit on Ayurveda in India, which was attended by representatives from 100 countries, health ministers from 23 countries, health experts from a number of countries, and various officials from the World Health Organization.

During the visit, both sides discussed the establishment of a traditional medicine and research center in Kabul, the training of specialists in this field, and a bilateral agreement.

Kyrgyz delegation in Kabul

Last week, a delegation led Kyrgyzstan Economy and Trade Minister Bakyt Sydykov arrived in Kabul and jointly opened the Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce in Kabul with Afghan officials.

Sydykov said the chamber will increase trade between traders of the two countries.

During the Afghanistan-Kyrgyzstan Business Dialogue meeting in Kabul, Afghan and Kyrgyz traders signed trade agreements worth more than $156 million in various sectors.

Continuation of aid

Last week, Germany announced two million euros and Japan $19.5 million in aid to Afghanistan. The European Union also said it has allocated five million euros to create job opportunities in Afghanistan.

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