Nirendra Dev
The deliberations between Indian leaders and Qatar have increased lately. Qatar’s special envoy for conflict resolution.
New Delhi: Amid the turmoil in Afghanistan since the fall of Kabul and anxiety at the global level on the fate of war against terrorism, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Friday (August 20) met Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister of Qatar at Doha.
"Met Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani @MBA_AlThani, DPM & FM Qatar during my stopover in Doha," Jaishankar tweeted. He also said both the leaders had a "useful exchange" of views on Afghanistan.
The deliberations between Indian leaders and Qatar have increased lately. Qatar’s special envoy for conflict resolution, Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani. had visited New Delhi earlier this month and invited India for a round of talks on the situation in Afghanistan. India's move to draw closer to Qatar on issues related to Afghanistan is crucial. Dr Jaishankar was returning from New York, where he had attended a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Qatar has played host to negotiations between the US and the Taliban that facilitated the withdrawal of US-led foreign troops from Afghanistan. The Qatari capital has also played host to talks between the Taliban and the representatives of the Afghan government of Ashraf Ghani. Qatar has also been host to the Taliban’s political office in Doha since 2013.
Dr Jaishankar has made two stopovers at Doha in June during his visit to Kenya and Kuwait.
The Qatari foreign minister, in a tweet, said: "Delighted to welcome again my colleague @DrSJaishankar, #India's Minister of External Affairs. Our discussion included ways of developing the historical relations between our two friendly nations, along with the recent developments in Afghanistan."
Dr Jaishankar said on Thursday (August 19) in New York that the 'historical relationship' with the Afghan people has always been important for India. That relationship with the Afghan people 'obviously continues'. "I think that relationship with the Afghan people obviously continues and that will guide our approach in Afghanistan in the coming days," the Minister told journalists.
India has completed all its diplomats and other staff members evacuation from Kabul in two Air Force aircraft with support from the United States.
Meanwhile, reports said the Taliban have been carrying out door-to-door searches of several embassies in Kabul and other places like Kandahar.
