Afghanistan should not become safe haven for terrorism: Italian premier

By Baris Seckin and Gozde Bayar

ROME/ANKARA (AA) - Afghanistan should not become again a safe haven for terrorism, the Italian prime minister said at a virtual G20 meeting on Tuesday.

“All of you made the point that Afghanistan should not become again a safe haven for terrorism. This might destabilize not only Afghanistan, but the whole region, and maybe also the world,” said an official statement, citing Mario Draghi’s remarks.

Underlining the importance of a unified stance on the issue, Draghi said the UN seems to have had a broad mandate to coordinate all the activities to help Afghan citizens.

“The main purpose of this coordination is first and foremost to respond to the humanitarian emergency and we support the United Nations assistance mission in Afghanistan,” he added.

He urged immediate action since there is a “colossal humanitarian crisis”, which is already worsening ahead of winter.

On the economic situation in the country, he said there is going to be a payment system crisis in Afghanistan, as the payment system seems to be on the verge of halting.

“Together with that, there is going to be a banking system crisis and that’s as important as the present humanitarian crisis because if money doesn’t flow, if payments cannot be done, the economy will collapse and will make any sort of assistance incredibly more complicated,” Draghi added.

About the coronavirus pandemic, he said they should stand ready to supply vaccines and support a prompt resumption of the vaccination campaign through the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility.

- Turkey’s proposal to establish working group

Draghi told reporters following the G20 meeting that the countries neighboring Afghanistan should be included in the migration issue. He said that the aid that is directed to the country should be programed but there is currently no coordination.

About Turkey’s proposal to establish a working group, he said: "I said right away that this is an interesting proposal. But other members should also agree on this issue. We will talk about this issue with other members in the coming days.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had proposed the creation of a working group on Afghanistan under the G20 to address the situation there on political, economic, and humanitarian fronts.

The Taliban captured Kabul on Aug. 15, forcing the president and other top officials to leave the country. They have formed an interim government headed by Hasan Akhund.

World powers have called on the group to form an inclusive government that is representative of the country's ethnic diversity.