On Thursday 8 February, the European Union and Afghanistan held the first meeting, in Brussels, of the joint committee established under the EU-Afghanistan cooperation agreement on partnership and development (CAPD).
According to a press release from the European External Action Service (EEAS), this meeting enabled the EU and Afghanistan to discuss progress on the implementation of Afghanistan’s reform agenda, which was adopted in October 2016, and to examine "the many areas of cooperation that have been reinforced" as a result of the provisional entry into force of the CAPD on 1 December 2017 (see EUROPE 11916). The EEAS especially mentions human rights, women’s rights, development cooperation, trade and investment matters, migration, regional cooperation and connectivity. "Strengthening cooperation on migration through existing frameworks such as the Joint Way Forward" was also discussed, according to the EEAS, as were humanitarian issues, cooperation on natural resources and financial services, as well as the security situation in Afghanistan.
The joint committee also created two working groups – one on human rights, good governance and migration, and the other on economic and social development.
The next joint committee meeting will be held in Kabul in 2019.
During a meeting ahead of this joint committee meeting, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Afghanistan's Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi underlined their "strong support" to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)