Afghan peace conference starts in Geneva

KABUL: Afghan leaders and international diplomats met in Geneva on Tuesday to evaluate whether strategies and aid offered to Afghanistan are helping resolve the quagmire created by the 17-year war, paving way for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

Pakistan is also attending the two-day conference. The conference on Afghanistan, jointly hosted by the Afghan government and the United Nations, comes at a time when US President Donald Trump’s administration is actively seeking a peace deal with the Taliban. While no fresh financial commitments are expected, the conference will be a chance for donors to measure results against the $15.2 billion committed for Afghanistan at the last funding meeting in Brussels in 2016.

The government will present a growth strategy mapping out how an economy battered by 40 years of war can one day stand on its own as well as pledges on issues ranging from fighting corruption to women’s empowerment. However, diplomats said much of the focus will be on side meetings, where officials from Afghanistan and regional and Western countries will have a chance to assess the efforts of US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad.