News Report: Chinese Leader Urges Deeper Cooperation With Afghanistan in Fighting Terrorism

Chinese President Xi Jinping in the framework of the SCO summit has called for a deeper cooperation with Afghanistan in security issues and fight against terrorism.

ASTANA (Sputnik) — China is ready to enhance collaboration with Afghanistan and provide necessary help to combat terrorism, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday at the meeting with Afghanistan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.

"The sides have to strengthen cooperation in security issues and fight against terrorism. China supports Afghanistan’s efforts to ensure security in the country and ready to assist Afghanistan in acquiring appropriate capacities," Xi said at the meeting in the framework of the SCO summit, as quoted in the Chinese Foreign Ministry's press release.

Xi stressed that China would continue to pursue friendly policy toward Afghanistan and contribute to the restoration of peace in the country.

Ghani expressed his gratitude to the Chinese side for support of the peace process in Afghanistan, emphasizing that he highly values the important role played by China in regional and international issues.

The two-day SCO summit kicked off on Wednesday in the Kazakh capital, Astana. The SCO is a political, military and economic alliance comprising Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The agenda of the summit includes issues related to cooperation in fight against international terrorism, security and the situation in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has long been suffering from unstable political, social and security situation due to the simmering militant insurgency, in particular by the Taliban movement. Last week, a powerful blast occurred in the city of Kabul, leaving up to 150 people dead and over 300 injured. The Islamic State (IS, terrorist group, outlawed in Russia) claimed responsibility for the attack.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.