The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, today, Thursday, April 15, arrived in Kabul in a surprise visit, just a day after US President Joe Biden made an announcement on American departure from Afghanistan.
The US Secretary of State in separate meetings spoke with the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdulla Abdullah, the Chairperson of the High Council for National Reconciliation.
“I am here to demonstrate our commitment to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and to the people of Afghanistan. We have a partnership that is changing but is enduring,” Blinken said while meeting Abdullah.
President Ghani welcomed the US Secretary of State and thanked him for US assistance, said a statement issued by the Afghan presidential palace. Ghani urged Secretary Blinken that the two countries needed to fight a common enemy that is terrorism. He said the Afghan government respected the US decision to pull out American troops from Afghanistan.
The US Secretary of State assured that the US would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan government and the Afghan security and defense forces and support the Afghan peace process, the statement said.
This is the first Kabul visit by the US Secretary of State ever since President Biden took office. We have a new chapter in our relationship, Blinken said in his Kabul visit.
