16 September 2020
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation welcomes the beginning of inclusive talks between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
We would like to express hope for the progressive development of the intra-Afghan dialogue based on respect for the interests of all public, political, ethnic and religious groups in the interests of Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction and sustainable development.
We would like to point out once again that there is no alternative to settling the conflict in Afghanistan through political dialogue and an inclusive peace process implemented and supervised by the Afghan people themselves. We see this process as one of the main security and stability factors in the SCO space that can boost multifaceted collaboration between the SCO and Afghanistan.
We reaffirm our support for the efforts of the people of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which is an SCO observer state, to bring about peace and economic progress and to fight terrorism, extremism and drug-related crime.
Based on the outcome of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council meeting held on 10 September 2020 in Moscow, the event participants highlighted the importance of joint efforts within the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group and stated their intention to start implementing the next steps in the roadmap as soon as possible.
Beijing, 16 September 2020