Afghans cross a bridge above the Kabul river in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept 28, 2021. (FELIPE DANA / AP)
ROME – An extraordinary meeting of the Group of 20 major economies to discuss Afghanistan will take place on Oct 12, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday.
Italy holds the rotating G20 presidency this year and Draghi has recently discussed Afghanistan with other world leaders – including Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping – in an effort to organize a special meeting to lay down strategies to confront the crisis.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Qatar, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations will also participate in the meeting
"We have to see whether there are shared objectives among the G20 nations…we have reached a point where we only need to worry about saving lives," Draghi said at a news conference.
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The international community must also lay down a strategy to prevent Afghanistan becoming a haven for militants, he said.
The extraordinary G20 meeting will take place a few weeks before the summit of the leaders scheduled in Rome for Oct 30-31. Draghi said Qatar, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations will also participate.
The Afghan crisis is fuelling worries within the European Union over the risk of massive flows of migrants and some member states have already opposed plans to accommodate refugees.
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