Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Paolo Gentiloni took part in a ministerial meeting on Afghanistan co-chaired by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah. The meeting offered an opportunity to highlight the progress made in that country thanks also to the efforts of the international community.
In his speech Minister Gentiloni underscored how Afghanistan had achieved excellent results over the past 14 years in terms of democracy and human rights, and expressed Italy’s pride at having contributed with other partners to that progress. “But the challenges are still many. The country must strive to promote the reform process in order to continue to enjoy the economic and financial support of partner nations such as Italy and earn the trust of private investors”. Peace in Afghanistan, the minister concluded, “cannot be accomplished in the absence of cooperation amongst the other countries of the region”.
