Afghanistan: UK statement on historic talks
Foreign Secretary urges parties to ‘seize opportunity’ in historic Afghan peace talks.
Sep 12, The Foreign Secretary welcomed the start of Afghan peace talks in Doha today (Saturday 12 September) and called for both sides to seize the opportunity to end decades of conflict in Afghanistan.
The UK’s military and diplomatic efforts have been critical in supporting Afghanistan over the past 19 years, as it strives to become more stable and prosperous.
In addition, the UK’s world-leading aid expertise has helped millions of children go to school and provided life-saving food to those in need.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:
Today is a moment that I hope leads to real, positive change in Afghanistan. All sides need to seize this opportunity to work towards an inclusive and sustainable peace.
A comprehensive ceasefire should be agreed quickly for the sake of the Afghan people who have suffered for too long.
The UK, as the third-largest troop contributor to the NATO mission, plays a vital role in Afghanistan, most recently supporting the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) with training, mentoring and financial assistance.
Over the last three years, the UK has pledged up to £750 million of humanitarian and development support, which has:
Helped more than 6.4 million children attend school, including over 300,000 girls who can now go to primary school through the Girls’ Education Challenge Fund. The second phase of this programme, which launched last year, is supporting more than 70,000 marginalised girls access primary and secondary education and skills training.
Provided life-saving assistance to hundreds of thousands of people during one of the worst droughts the country ever faced in 2018.
Given over six million people access to electricity over the last 15 years.
