NEW DELHI — Participants in the third Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan pledged on Wednesday support to a peaceful secure and stable Afghanistan.

Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that the third Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan at National Security Advisors level, held in New Delhi, pledged support to establish a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan In the meeting with the participation of national security advisers of India, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The evolving situation in Afghanistan and its regional and global ramifications were discussed. “The current political situation in Afghanistan and threats arising from terrorism, radicalization and drug trafficking as well as the need for humanitarian assistance were also addressed the statement said.

The national security advisers pledged strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan while emphasizing respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the country.

The officials also expressed concern over Afghan’s' suffering due to the security situation in the country. They condemned terrorist attacks in Kunduz, Kandahar and Kabul and underlined that Afghanistan’s territory should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing any terrorist acts.”

The third Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan pledged their resolve to combat terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They also urged not to use Afghanistan as a safe haven for global terrorism and expressed the will to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and counter radicalization and financing terror activities.

The dialogue also urged for collective cooperation against radicalization, extremism, separatism and drug trafficking in the region. They wanted to form an inclusive government representing the will of all the people of Afghanistan.

Inclusion of all sections of the society in the administrative and political structure is imperative for the successful national reconciliation process in the country, the statement said.

The participants underlined that the UN activities in the country is vitally important and had a central role to play in Afghanistan The participants also underlined the importance of ensuring fundamental rights of women, children and minority communities while expressing concern over the deteriorating socio-economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

They pledged to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan, renewed commitment to provide assistance to the troubled nation to prevent spread of COVID-19.

The top security officials of eight countries called for closer coordination and collective efforts to tackle threats such as terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and to address a looming humanitarian crisis.

India’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval said the time has come for closer consultations and greater coordination among regional countries to find solutions to recent developments in the war-torn country.

“We all have been keenly watching the developments in [Afghanistan]. These have important implications not only for the people of Afghanistan, but also for its neighbors and the region,” Doval said in his televised remarks.

“This is a time for close consultations among us, greater cooperation, interaction and coordination among the regional countries,” he said.

Though this is the first such meeting on Afghanistan to be convened by India, the dialogue is the continuation of a mechanism whereby Iran hosted two meets in 2018 and 2019. Pakistan and China were invited to Wednesday’s meeting but opted not to participate.

Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s security council, called for practical measures to deal with threats and challenges emanating from Afghan territory. Noting the proliferation of dialogue mechanisms on Afghanistan, including the Moscow Format and the Turkic Council, he said it was important that these forums should not duplicate work but complement each other.

He also noted that the Moscow Format, which held its third meeting in the Russian capital on Oct. 20, has important potential to coordinate efforts to settle the Afghanistan issue.

“In Moscow, we laid a good foundation to determine the position of our countries regarding the development of the dialogue with the Taliban as well as to practically coordinate the efforts of all stakeholders of the region,” Patrushev said. — Agencies