FM Çavuşoğlu discusses ties during visit to Afghanistan


Following visits to Myanmar and Sri Lanka, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is now in Afghanistan on an official visit where he met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani along with the chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, on Thursday. Turkish officials have called relations between Afghanistan and Turkey exemplary, as Turkey's policy on Afghanistan is based on the four concepts of the maintenance of unity and integrity of Afghanistan, providing security and stability in the country, formation of a broad political structure in which popular participation is a priority and restoration of peace and prosperity by eliminating terrorism and extremism.With the state of relations between the two countries, Turkish Red Crescent Vice President Naci Yılmaz was in Kabul in early May where he signed a goodwill protocol with the Afghan Red Crescent and announced that the Turkish Red Crescent is preparing to open an office in Afghan capital Kabul. The Turkish Red Crescent is a leading humanitarian aid organization known for its work in disaster zones around the world.Çavuşoğlu met on Thursday with the Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, who is also a former Uzbek army general. Çavuşoğlu also had a meeting with Afghan Foreign Minister Salahaddin Rabbani concerning bilateral relations and the latest developments in Afghanistan and the region. Çavuşoğlu gave details of the upcoming NATO Warsaw Summit, which will be held on July 8-9. The conference in Brussels regarding Afghanistan was also another topic on the agenda and Çavuşoğlu conveyed Ankara's full support to Afghanistan's security, stability and efforts to enhance capacity in all fields. Çavuşoğlu also visited Turkish troops in Afghanistan. Prior to his visit to Afghanistan, Defense Minister Fikri Işık had paid an official visit to Kabul on June 5 where he underlined the importance of NATO presence in Afghanistan for achieving the country's security and stability.