Afghanistan, SL agree to expand bilateral relationship

KABUL’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mohammad Ashraf Haidari has met the newly elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa and congratulated the PM on his notable and historic victory.

The envoy conveyed to him President Ashraf Ghani’s congratulatory message on Sri Lanka’s successful general elections with a high voter-turn, despite the COVID-19 challenge.

“This is a big win for democracy, which inspires our democracy as a work in progress. That is why we look forward to Sri Lanka’s strong support for Afghanistan’s democratic process and the hard-earned gains of the Afghan people over past 19 years,” said Ambassador Haidari.

The Prime Minister, under whose former presidency Afghanistan and Sri Lanka elevated their bilateral relationship to full diplomatic relations, welcomed President Ghani’s and Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar’s congratulatory messages, reaffirming his commitment to the further expansion of bilateral ties between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. 

Ambassador Haidari briefed the Honorable Prime Minister Rajapaksa on the Afghan peace process, as the ongoing imposed war in Afghanistan directly contributes to such regional and Sri Lankan security concerns as terrorism, extremism, drug-trafficking, and human trafficking.

“Peace is the absolute desire and demand of every Afghan citizen, as our people have continuously suffered from over four decades of war,” said Ambassador Haidari. He highlighted the recent Consultative Peace Jirga, which over 3,000 representatives of the Afghan people from across the nation attended in support of the peace process.

He informed the Prime Minister that the Consultative Peace Jirga reached a consensus, authorizing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to conditionally release the remaining 400 Taliban prisoners to clear away the last hurdle to the immediate start of peace talks, which they demanded be accompanied by a notable reduction of violence, a humanitarian ceasefire to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and guarantees by the Taliban that their released prisoners would not return to the battlefield.

However, he noted that although the Government of Afghanistan, which the US-Taliban deal excluded, has done its part, releasing some 5,500 Taliban prisoners, the Taliban have continued escalating violence and terrorist attacks, daily targeting civilians. “The released Taliban prisoners could pose a credible threat to regional security and international peace.

That is why the Afghan people expect the international community and our wider neighborhood to do their part on many fronts, especially support the Afghan people in preserving the Islamic Republic underpinned by our Constitution, notable achievements in human and women rights, as well as institutional gains as vital state-building works in progress, “said Ambassador Haidari.

Moreover, both sides reviewed the status of implementation of bilateral MOUs and agreements, which the global pandemic slowed down due to domestic measures and an overall slow-down in international relations. However, they highlighted connectivity as the key to jumpstarting bilateral trade and investment with significant business opportunities in both countries. Medical tourism, higher education tourism, tourism, investment in the mining of precious and semi-precious stones, as well as agribusiness hold much potential and promise for first-mover Sri Lankan investors, the Ambassador highlighted.

He also praised Sri Lanka’s quality variety teas for mass-export to Afghanistan as a tea-drinking nation, while requesting technical cooperation in water resources management and irrigation where Sri Lanka has many strengths since time immemorial. To that end, the Honorable Prime Minister Rajapaksa responded positively to a request for an increase in the number of scholarships for the Afghan students—which the Ambassador greatly appreciated.

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