Ambassador Abdali Participated in a Virtual Seminar Entitled “Afghanistan at a Crossroad: Whither will it go?”
The online seminar entitled “Afghanistan at a crossroad: Whither will it go?” co-hosted by the Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan (GPAJ), Kyoto Peacebuilding Center (KPC), and Academic Council on the UN System (ACUNS) was held on August 28, 2021. Ambassador of Afghanistan to Japan; Dr. Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Chairman of the Kyoto International Conference Center and Vice President of the United Nations Association of Japan, Mr. Tadamichi Yamamoto, Former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Mr. Abdullah Al Dardari, Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Program in Afghanistan, delivered speeches during the seminar. The event was attended by members of the GPAJ, KPC, and ACUNS, as well as, professors and researchers from the Japanese universities. In his speech, Ambassador Abdali briefed the participants on the current situation in Afghanistan, including the dire humanitarian situation, and highlighted the need to gear up international efforts to increase support for Afghanistan in response to increasing humanitarian needs in a time that the sudden collapse of the government and disruption of provision of civil services, coupled with the impacts of Covid-19 crisis has further exacerbated people’s vulnerabilities. He added that “Japan can play a critical role in this context.” Ambassador Abdali also called upon the international community to constructively engage with Afghanistan to assist the formation of an inclusive government that has broad support from all Afghans and is acceptable for the international community. The participants also spoke about the presence of regional and international terror networks operating in Afghanistan and the threats they can pose to the stability of the region and beyond and highlighted the importance of collective international efforts to counter such threats. The event was followed by a Q&A; session.
