India, Turkmenistan share consensus on Afghanistan issues: President Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind said here on Saturday that India and Turkmenistan share a broad regional consensus on the issues related to Afghanistan, including the formation of a truly representative and inclusive government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking and preserving the rights of women, children and other national ethnic groups and minorities.

President Kovind met with his Turkmen counterpart Serdar Berdimuhamedov on Saturday and discussed the recent developments in Afghanistan.

As immediate neighbours of Afghanistan, our countries are naturally concerned about the developments within that country and their external repercussions, he said in a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

We share a broad regional consensus' on the issues related to Afghanistan, which includes the formation of a truly representative and inclusive government, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, the central role of the UN, providing immediate humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan and preserving the rights of women, children and other national ethnic groups and minorities, he said.

President Kovind arrived here on Friday as he began his three-day state visit to Turkmenistan. This is the first-ever visit of the President of India to independent Turkmenistan and comes just after the inauguration of new Turkmen President Berdimuhamedov.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the US' complete troop withdrawal on August 31 after a costly two-decade war. This forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who was backed by the US-led West, to flee the country to the UAE.

The Taliban insurgents stormed across Afghanistan and captured all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his February report, said the situation in Afghanistan remains precarious and uncertain nearly six months after the Taliban takeover, as the multiple political, socio-economic and humanitarian shocks reverberate across the war-ravaged country.

The Taliban is showing efforts to present itself as a caretaker government. The movement, however, has yet to form governing structures that reflect the country's ethnic, political and geographic diversity and include women. Efforts are constrained by the lack of resources and capacity, as well as an ideology that clashes in many ways with international norms of governance, it said.

The current Taliban regime in Kabul has not yet been recognised by the international community as they have failed to address global concerns regarding the formation of a truly representative and inclusive government in the war-torn country.

The hardline Islamists have also been urged to preserve the rights of women, children and other national ethnic groups and minorities in Afghanistan.