Canberra – Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai met with the Australian Foreign Minister Ms. Julie Bishop on 8 December 2017. 

While emphasizing cooperation between the two countries and a joint struggle against terrorism, Mr. Karzai said that Afghanistan supports United States’ new strategy for South Asia and is hopeful that an international consensus would be formed for supporting this strategy in order to uproot terrorism in the region. The Deputy Foreign Minister also emphasized that terrorism is still an international threat and a serious danger against peace, stability, and economic development in Afghanistan and the region, which requires long term cooperation of the international community.

The Australian Foreign Minister appreciated Afghanistan’s progress in terms of fighting terrorism and said that Australia is standing beside the Afghan people and government and supports peace and stability in Afghanistan. She also stressed that stablishing a platform for political consultation between the two countries could be a positive step for further extending and deepening relations in the future.

Mr. Karzai expressed his hope for the extension of these political consultations in different fields like security, business, economy, and culture so that the two countries could create more coordination in global issues, especially in fighting terrorism.