2023.12.08
On December 8, Basir Feda, Head of Afghanistan and Central/ South Asia Unit, Miriam Trefzer, Project Manager, and Isabel Hoffmann, Junior Project Manager of the Berghof Foundation of Germany, held an in-depth discussion on the issues about Afghanistan with Wang Feng, Director of the International Relations Office of the Institute of West Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS); He An, Secretary General and Director of the Center for South Asian Studies of GVI; Zhao Yujun, a PhD from China Foreign Affairs University; Qin Changsheng, young researcher of GVI and member of the South Asia Research Group of Beijing Foreign Studies University; Arslan, young researcher of GVI; Cheng Xing, young researcher of GVI and associate researcher and visiting lecturer at University College London, and Yang Xiaotong, research director of the Public Affairs Department of GVI.
Delegates from the Berghof Foundation believed that with the Russian-Ukrainian and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts topping the headlines, the Afghan issue has been marginalized, but the country under the reign of the Taliban is still trapped with many problems and urgently needs the coordination of the international community, or else Afghanistan will face a serious humanitarian crisis, and its human rights condition would never be improved.
Both sides agreed that Afghanistan is geographically advantageous, located strategically at the crossroads of the Eurasian continent, where East, Central, West, and South Asia meet. Peace and prosperity in Afghanistan can not only improve the living conditions of the locals, curb drug trafficking, and prevent the spread of terrorism, but will also provide opportunities for both Afghanistan and the world. As one of the few countries that maintains ties with the Taliban regime, China can play an important role in advancing this process.