G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting on Afghanistan expected next week

TOKYO: A G7 foreign ministers’ meeting is scheduled for next week with Russia’s and China’s participation and will focus on Afghanistan, NHK reported on Sunday.“Next week, a meeting at the level of the foreign ministers of the G7 countries is expected, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan; the presence of the ministers from Russia, China and other countries is also expected,” said Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. “This could happen already on September 8,” he added.

Meanwhile, UN agencies have warned of a major humanitarian crisis is looming in Afghanistan, amid uncertainty about the situation for vulnerable Afghans seeking shelter across the country’s borders. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Sunday termed the Afghanistan situation a “humanitarian emergency of internal displacement” as more than half a million Afghan civilians have been displaced from the war-ravaged country.

“More than half a million Afghan civilians have already been displaced. The full impact of the evolving political situation isn’t clear. What is clear is that we are witnessing large-scale displacement amid what is now a humanitarian emergency of internal displacement,” UNHRC tweeted.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said foreign ministers from the US, Germany and other nations are expected to hold virtual talks to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.