TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi visited Doha on July 1 to attend the Third Meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan, also known as Doha III, in Doha. The meeting, initiated by the UN Secretary-General and hosted by Qatar, aimed to follow up on the UN Secretary-General's independent assessment of Afghanistan and to address the multidimensional crisis in the country.

The third Doha meeting is a continuation of the Doha I Meeting held in May 2023 and the Doha II meeting in February 2024. Indonesia was also invited and participated in the first and second meetings.

The meeting was overseen by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, and was attended by the de facto authority (DFA) in Afghanistan, which is the Taliban, and representatives from 25 countries, including the United States, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, South Korea, India, China, Germany, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Canada, Norway, Russia, Turkiye, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, as well as international organizations, including the UN, the European Union, the OIC, and the Asian Development Bank.

Notably, the de facto authority in Afghanistan, the Taliban, also participated for the first time.

“I need to emphasize that the DFA's participation in Doha III does not imply r international recognition but rather aimed to facilitate inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders in Afghanistan, including the DFA, regarding issues such as women's rights in education and employment,” Retno said in a written statement.

In addition to exchanging views on general issues, the Doha III meeting focused on two main topics: Enabling the Private Sector and Counter Narcotics: Sustaining Progress Made.

Delegates expressed their commitment to prioritizing the interests of the Afghan people in their collaborative efforts and acknowledged progress in security matters in Afghanistan.

Moreover, the meeting lauded the "poppy ban" policy, which led to a 95 percent reduction in opium cultivation in Afghanistan.

“We know that the challenge of this policy is how to prepare alternative livelihoods for opium farmers. Therefore, economic activities must be prepared to prevent them from returning to opium cultivation or engaging in illicit drug trafficking activities,” Retno Marsudi concluded.

SUCI SEKARWATI

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