The academic community is the policy-making and implementation arm of the government in the peace process

A conference titled "The Role of Academic Institutions in the Afghanistan Peace Process" was organized by the General Directorate of Policies and Programs of the State Ministry for Peace with the participation of deans and professors of universities and representatives of study and research institutions from the central zone.

At the conference, Abdul Khaliq Balakarzai, Deputy Minister for Coordination of Tribes in the State Ministry for Peace, called the role of academic institutions in the peace process important and said that these institutions could strengthen and advance the peace process.

Mr. Balakarzai also stressed the importance of the role of academics in creating social peace, and said that the views of university professors and research and study centers will be discussed during the negotiations.

The Deputy Minister for Coordination of Tribes also briefed the participants on the progress of the peace process and expressed hope for the start of peace negotiations.

Adding to that, Ghulam Yahya Hazem, General Director of Policies and Programs at the State Ministry for Peace, said that universities, as the foundation of civil society, are key players in the peace process and that the State Ministry for Peace will provide the necessary facilities for this group to play its role.

He praised the role of academic institutions in creating social peace and stressed that the State Ministry for Peace wants to establish a group of academic institutions to cooperate in the pre-negotiation, negotiation and post-negotiation stages with the State Ministry for Peace.

Mr. Hazem stated that the creation of this group will start from the central zone and will cover all the provinces of the country.

Subsequently, the conference participants in five committees discussed the questions and issues raised and shared the results of their discussions. They stressed that academic institutions can play the greatest and most important role in the peace process by creating mentality and awareness about peace.

Representatives of academic institutions called for a greater contribution of these institutions and university professors as experts in the peace process, saying that academic institutions could cooperate with the State Ministry for Peace in the fields of scientific research, policy development, programs and procedures.

Participants also called for a change in the study curriculum, saying that in order to make peace at the community level, it is necessary to include the issue of peace in the study curriculum.