President Ashraf Ghani met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the sidelines of Munich Security Conference and discussed Afghan-led peace process, fight against terrorism and regional countries’ role in this regard, the Presidential Palace said in a statement on Saturday.
In this meeting, Stoltenberg said NATO member countries and partners are committed to working with Afghanistan, the statement said.
According to the statement, the NATO chief said they support an Afghan-led peace process and ownership of the Afghan government in the process.
He said peace is impossible without the leadership and ownership of the Afghan government.
President Ghani, meanwhile, said the grand consultative Jirga, a traditional assembly, will be held in Kabul in the near future in which representatives of all provinces of Afghanistan will discuss peace in details.
According to Presidential Palace, Ghani met with other leaders and high-ranking officials of different countries on the sidelines of Munich Security Conference.
The president last week called for a consultative Jirga on the peace process. The move by him was appreciated by a number of politicians including former President Hamid Karzai.
In an interview with TOLOnews on Feb. 14, the NATO chief said Stoltenberg said the alliance and the United States’ presence in Afghanistan over the past 18 years has not only helped fight terrorist groups but it has also provided security in order to support Afghans to create the conditions for social and economic development.
Stoltenberg said NATO’s presence in Afghanistan has paved the ground for Afghanistan to never again become a safe haven or breeding ground for international terrorism.
He said NATO’s presence and the presence of the United States has been key in the fight against terrorist groups, such as Daesh and Al Qaeda.
