President Ashraf Ghani left Kabul on Wednesday evening for a two-day visit to Washington where he will meet President Joe Biden, other administration officials and US lawmakers, the Presidential Palace said.
President Ghani is accompanied by First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation and other government officials.
Abdullah’s office said that Abdullah will meet with President Biden, other American officials and the legislators to discuss “a wide range of issues pertaining to current and future relations, commitments and peace.”
“President Biden looks forward to welcoming Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, to the White House on June 25,” the White House said in a statement earlier this week.
The visit, the White House said, will highlight the enduring partnership between the United States and Afghanistan as the military drawdown continues.
“The United States is committed to supporting the Afghan people by providing diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian assistance to support the Afghan people, including Afghan women, girls and minorities,” the statement said.
It added that the United States will remain “deeply engaged” with the government of Afghanistan to ensure the country never again becomes a “safe haven for terrorist groups who pose a threat to the US homeland.”
The White House said that the US continues to “fully support the ongoing peace process and encourages all Afghan parties to participate meaningfully in negotiations to bring an end to the conflict.”
This comes as the US and coalition forces have been withdrawing from Afghanistan and violence has intensified on multiple fronts across the country. About 70 districts have fallen to the Taliban in the past two months.
