The G20 in Rome with Biden and Modi to help Afghanistan- Corriere.it
The heads of state and government will participate by video conference at the conference, Xi and Putin absent. In the first place the fight against terrorism and the humanitarian crisis
ROME It will have a political significance in the first place, it will be the first time that the G20 countries they sit together to discuss such a delicate subject, from China to the Netherlands, from Russia to India, from Japan to the United States.
For the G20 dedicated to the situation in Afghanistan, which will take place on Tuesday in videoconference, coordinated by the Italian presidency and managed by Mario Draghi, they will be linked with Rome about two thirds of the heads of state and government belonging to the format: there will be Joe Biden but not Xi Jinping, who will be represented by the Chinese foreign minister; there will be the president of India Narendra Modi but not Vladimir Putin and not even Sergey Lavrov, a deputy minister will speak for Moscow.
But some defections, more or less expected, are minimized by our diplomacy, which still considers a success being able to put around the same table, to talk about security, fight against terrorism, essential services and humanitarian aid in Afghanistan, a virtually unprecedented parterre of states. The 20 will be joined by Qatar, which hosted the negotiations between the Americans and the Taliban of the past, which is working to keep the Kabul airport open, plus Spain, the Netherlands and Singapore, invited to participate in the events of the G20 by the Italian government since since the beginning of the presidency.
There will be no binding document, signed by the States, but an agreed line of action, with commitments and promises of action, which will then be summarized in a sort of minutes of the presidency that will be illustrated by Mario Draghi in a press conference at the end of the summit.
The involvement of the United Nations, the World Bank and other leading international financial institutions is discussed, together with the help of governments, to set up concrete aid projects for the Afghan population. Projects on the level of humanitarian aid, on the ability to provide for some fundamental rights, freedom of movement inside and outside the country, as well as the guarantee of essential services, such as health care. Then there will be the chapter dedicated to security and the fight against terrorism, which is continuing to scourge the country even after the Taliban’s resumption of power. On this topic, a specific chapter of the discussion will be dedicated to the fight against opium production and drug trafficking.
The European Commission, another regular guest of the G20, could announce a package of concrete funding for the main cities of Afghanistan. Other states may announce the same type.
Today’s conference was strongly supported by Mario Draghi, who also in recent days has been very hard on Washington for the way in which the withdrawal from Afghanistan was communicated and carried out. At the table they confront each other geopolitical sensibilities very distant from each other, starting with the one between Beijing and Washington. On the other hand, the ordinary summit of the G20 will take place in Rome for a good month. Also in this case Xi Jinping, who has not moved from China since the beginning of the pandemic.
October 11, 2021 (change October 11, 2021 | 23:08)
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