Khalilzad in Economic Talks for Afghan Settlement

July 4, 2020 (EIRNS)—In contrast to the current fake-news hysteria launched by the New York Times regarding the Taliban in Afghanistan, there has been a series of talks held by U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad related to finalizing a settlement between the Afghan government and the Taliban, which includes economic development.

Earlier this past week, a videoconference was held with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the chairman of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) Abdullah Abdullah, and U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, together with U.S. International Development Finance Corporation CEO Adam Boehler, after which, according to Sputnik, the participants agreed on the “need to prioritize Afghanistan’s economic growth,” which will require a commitment to peace from both Kabul and the Taliban.

“We share a common view that economic benefits of peace far outweigh benefits of war. A sustainable peace can mean investment w/ less risk, lower cost & faster capital deployment,” the U.S. envoy tweeted following the conference.

Another meeting with the Qatar Fund for Development and the Qatar Investment Authority took place yesterday with Khalilzad, Boehler, and Taliban representatives. Following that meeting, Khalizad tweeted that the Taliban “recognize all Afghans will have to make compromises in order to draw in the required investment in Afghanistan’s future.”

“In a follow-on mtg w/ the Taliban, we underscored the econ development opportunities that will follow a sustainable peace. We agreed developing plans in support of peace can never start too early, assuming the 2 sides can overcome final hurdles on the path to intra-Afghan negotiations,” the envoy tweeted.