The State Minister for Peace met with Indonesian Foreign Minister
Abdul Salam Rahimy, Special Representative of the President and the State Minister for Peace met with Ms. Retno Marsudi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia and her accompanying delegation.
In this meeting, the Special Representative of the President talked about the readiness of the Afghan government to start the intra-Afghan peace negotiations.
Referring to the three-day ceasefire, the unconditional peace agreement and holding the Consultative Peace Loya Jirga, Mr. Rahimy said that the government had always been a pioneer in the peace affairs and currently an Afghan delegation has been dispatched to Qatar to arrange direct peace negotiations with the Taliban.
The State Minister for Peace said that the Afghan people in the Consultative Peace Loya Jirga demanded the exchange of Taliban prisoners to create a climate of trust and added that the release of Taliban prisoners has been done in the past because of the goodwill of the Afghan people towards the peace negotiations. He added that the release of prisoners is part of the peace process and this issue will be discussed during the negotiations and that it is the Afghan government that has the power to decide on prisoners on behalf of the people.
The Indonesian Foreign Minister further stated that empowering women and their contribution to society is important and women can play a valuable role in the peace process.
The Special Representative of the President, stating that the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan guarantees the rights of all citizens, said that Afghan women have experienced many ups and downs, and now they can stand on their own and will defend their rights during the peace negotiations.
Reminiscing on Indonesia's support for the Afghan government-led peace talks, Ms. Retno Marsudi said that her country would not hesitate to cooperate in this regard.
Mr. Rahimy, praising Indonesia's continued cooperation, said that this country is like a role model among Islamic countries and that its support for the peace process would help greatly.
In the end, the Special Representative of the President said that international support for the Afghanistan peace process provides global guarantees and oversight mechanisms for the process.
