Category: Central Asia

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Published on November 07, 2020 in TOLO News 

This November 1, 2020, marked the 62nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. To celebrate the occasion, Afghan and Sri Lankan leaders exchanged warm congratulatory messages, reaffirming their mutual commitment to further deepening ties between our two nations.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa tweeted to say: “Today, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan celebrate 62 years of establishing diplomatic relations. The leadership of both nations is committed to continue and further strengthen our friendship and bilateral relationship to mutually benefit both our nations.” President Ashraf Ghani responded, “Thank you, Prime Minister Rajapaksa. I would also like to congratulate you and the people of Sri Lanka on this auspicious occasion. Afghanistan is committed to a long-lasting relationship. We have a shared heritage, and our regional connectivity programs will build on that in the near future.”

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Published on April 04, 2020 in TOLO News

As of this writing, over one million people in 181 countries are confirmed to have been infected by COVID-19 (coronavirus), according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. The novel pandemic has left no race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and ideology behind, as it continues ravaging all communities without distinction. Victims include citizens of all ages, genders, and diverse socio-economic status—including world leaders and celebrities in democratic and non-democratic societies alike—across the globe.Continue reading

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Published on November 23, 2019 in TOLO News 

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani was one of the first leaders in the region to send a message of congratulations to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, following his recent electoral victory and assumption of official duties as the seventh executive president of Sri Lanka. President Ghani told his new counterpart, “your democratic election demonstrates the strong confidence of the people of Sri Lanka in your leadership, vision, and programs of action for the betterment of your nation and country.”Continue reading

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Published on June 12, 2019 in Tolo News

Afghanistan has experimented with different forms of government since its emergence as a modern nation-state. From absolute and constitutional monarchies to the first republic and communist/Marxist regimes, never has Afghanistan experienced as much democratic rule as over the past 18 years since the fall of the Taliban. Even though democracy has gradually evolved with most of the Afghan state institutions still developing to deliver on the promise of democracy in a system of checks and balances, the process of institutionalization of democracy continues unhindered with the strong support of the Afghan people and commitment of the country’s leadership, including President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.Continue reading

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Published on June 28, 2017 in The Diplomat Magazine

On June 16, the New York Times published and op-ed titled “For Peace in Afghanistan, Talk to Pakistan.” The authors are right that Pakistan’s behavior must change if Afghanistan is to attain stability, but they’re naive in thinking that what they propose will produce such change.Continue reading

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Published on December 28, 2017 in The Diplomat Magazine

Any assessment of where Afghanistan stands today needs to be put into its historical context. In doing so, it should be recalled that even before the advent of the present conflict, Afghanistan had been one of the least developed countries in the world. The country’s development was hindered by competing Russian and British empires for more than two centuries. The imperial tensions and rivalry effectively reduced Afghanistan to one of the most isolated buffer states in the world. But before the colonial era, Afghanistan had been the roundabout of the ancient Silk Road, indeed, its gateway to the north, south, east, and west for commercial and civilizational interactions.Continue reading

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Published on October 16, 2017 in The Diplomat Magazine

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes that for centuries played a central role in facilitating cultural and commercial interaction across Eurasia. The terrestrial and maritime routes of the Silk Road connected Asia and Europe, the East and West, stretching from the Korean peninsula and Japan to the Mediterranean Sea. The Afghan cities of Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Kandahar, and Bamyan constituted some of the key ancient cities through which the Silk Road passed.Continue reading

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Published on October 07, 2017 in The Diplomat Magazine

In the 11th Silk Road Mayors Forum (SRMF) in Iran last September, the World Citizens Organization (WCO) and members of the SRMF unanimously selected the historic Kabul City to host the next SRMF on October 20, 2017. This rightfully recognized Afghanistan’s ancient status as the heir of the Silk Road civilization and a regional intersection that connects people, businesses, cultures, civilizations, and consequently invites friendship and cooperation. It also demonstrates increased international confidence in the administrative capacity of the Afghan government under President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.Continue reading

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Published on October 24, 2014 in The Foreign Policy
This week, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its annual survey of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan for 2013. As ever, the survey’s findings are hardly surprising. They reflect the periodic fluctuations in the amount of opium poppy cultivated and produced in the country. Last year, cultivation increased to 209,000 hectares and production to 5,500 metric tons — a 49 percent increase over 2012.