Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, also known as US Peace Envoy to Afghanistan is in Beijing to meet Taliban Leadership
The U.S. Foreign Secretary Office, on Wednesday, released a statement that the American Peace Envoy to Afghanistan is in Beijing for latest rounds of talks with Taliban.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Peace Envoy to Afghanistan, has landed in Beijing to indulge in peace talks with Taliban leaders.
This meeting has been reported as a previously scheduled meeting.
Zalmay Khalilzad’s official meeting has come days after he stated that he can report “substantive” progress on all key aspects to a peace agreement in Afghanistan’s 17-year war.
Khalilzad said the latest round of talks with the Taliban had been the “most productive” and had broadened to include a timeline for both intra-Afghan negotiations and a cease-fire.
China has hosted talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government and has substantial interests in the country’s mineral wealth, as well as in reducing the chances of instability flowing across the two countries’ narrow border.
U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has earlier expressed hope that USA can largely intervene in the peace-building process in Afghanistan and prevent further wars.
Zalmay Khalilzad’s visit to Beijing has been projected as a counter to China’s growing influence in Afghanistan.
China has secured rights to Afghanistan’s Mes Aynak copper deposits, believed to contain about 450 million tons of the copper. China is reportedly helping Afghanistan to set up a mountain frontier to bolster counterterrorism operations.
Also read: http://diplomacybeyond.com/explained-the-political-and-economic-transition-in-greece/