“Looking Positively,” Foreign Minister Jaishankar On Afghanistan Ahead Of Upcoming UN Meeting In Doha

Ahead of the upcoming United Nations meeting hosted by UN chief Antonio Guterres in Doha, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India is looking “positively” at the meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan.

According to officials, UN Secretary-General Guterres will be hosting the meeting in Doha on May 1 and 2.

‘We’re looking at it positively’

“We’re looking at it. We’re looking at it positively, but I guess we’ll take a call closer to the time but we are looking at it,” the foreign minister, S Jaishankar said in response to a question on whether India will be participating in the meeting.

Moreover, the Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said the purpose of the small group meeting is to reinvigorate international engagement around the common objectives for a durable way forward on the situation in Afghanistan.

UN’s stance on this meeting

“The Secretary-General has said and continues to believe that it’s an urgent priority to advance an approach based on pragmatism and principles, combined with strategic patience, and to identify parameters for creative, flexible, principled, and constructive engagement,” the spokesperson said.

“It is his aim that the discussions, which will be held behind closed doors, can contribute to a more unified consensus regarding the challenges ahead,” UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson Dujarric said.

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S Jaishankar on tour

According to the officials, the Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar is on his way to South America, beginning a nine-day trip to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic on Friday.

Before the external affairs minister’s visit, he arrived in New York and met Mr Guterres, discussing the situation in Sudan with the UN chief.

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