Afghan government said on Wednesday it had formed a 15-member delegation for negotiations with the Taliban.
In a statement, the state ministry for peace affairs said that political, social and ethnic diversity was considered in forming the team so that it could negotiate keeping in mind the values and achievements of the Afghan people.
Emphasizing on the importance of state-to-state strategic relations in the region and beyond for stability in Afghanistan, the statement said that ties with particularly US was of great importance.
It said that the Afghan government agrees with US on next steps in peace process.
The US has held seven rounds of talks with the Taliban and the sides are said to be close to an agreement.
The Afghan government’s announcement of negotiating team’s formation comes as US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad concluded his visit to Afghanistan.
Khalilzad said that the visit was the most productive since he took over the new role.
“The US and Afghanistan have agreed on next steps. And a negotiating team and technical support group are being finalizd,” Khalilzad said on Twitter.
Khalilzad said he was off to Doha, the venue of talks with the Taliban, with a stop in Islamabad.
“If the Taliban do their part, we will do ours, and conclude the agreement we have been working,” Khalilzad said.
Meanwhile, the Taliban have said that they will participate in conference of clerics from Afghanistan, Pakistan and hosts Indonesia that is scheduled to be held next month.
It comes after a delegation of the Taliban, led by the group’s deputy leader Mullah Baradar, visited Jakarta.
