Premier outlines Afghan proposals

Premier Li Keqiang outlined proposals on Afghanistan in a keynote address to the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan on Oct 31 in Beijing.

The conference was held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and was attended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.

It is the first large-scale international conference on Afghanistan that China has hosted and the first international conference on Afghanistan since the formation of the new Afghan government in late September.

Li's five proposals stressed the importance of the governance of Afghanistan by the Afghan people, the promotion of political reconciliation, accelerating economic reconstruction, exploring development paths and strengthening external support for the country.

The Istanbul Process was launched in 2011 to provide a platform to discuss a range of issues related to Afghanistan.

Foreign ministers or representatives from 14 member countries of the process, 16 other countries and 12 international and regional organizations participated in the meeting.