The second session of political-military consultations by ISAF partners operating under Italian command in Regional Command West (RCW) in Afghanistan has taken place at the Farnesina. The session was chaired by Under-Secretary Staffan de Mistura and attended by senior officials from the foreign and defence ministries of Italy, the United States, Spain, Lithuania, Albania and Slovenia, as well as NATO representatives.
The discussion focused on the transition process, now well in to its third stage, and on security, political developments, the regional context and the outlook for western Afghanistan post-2014.
The goal is to maintain a coordinated approach to the completion of the transition and remodulation of the ISAF military presence, in line with the progressive transfer of security responsibilities to the Afghan forces. The consultations also provided an opportunity to reiterate the need for a concrete commitment by the Afghan institutions as regards governance, the electoral process, the protection of human rights – especially women’s rights – and measures to combat corruption.
During the meeting, the Afghan Ambassador to Italy, Zia Uddin Nezam, thanked the international community and Italy for their efforts, which have enabled the country to make important advances in recent years. The Ambassador gave an assurance of the Afghan Government’s commitment to build on the progress achieved to date in a framework of long-term partnership.
