Event Recap

New Atlanticist

Apr 23, 2021

Hope amid a ‘window of uncertainty’ for Afghanistan

By Larry Luxner

“The Taliban have a choice to make at this time; they can, in fact, be pragmatic or they can be permanent pariahs,” former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said at the launch of the “Transatlantic charter on Afghan sovereignty, security, and development.”

Afghanistan Conflict

Afghanistan faced a stark reality as the United States prepared to withdraw its troops from the country after two decades on the ground. The looming September deadline underscored the urgent need for robust, sustained, and coordinated international action in Afghanistan to compensate for the security, political, and humanitarian consequences of the withdrawal.

For months, high-level experts, officials, and scholars from the United States, Afghanistan, and Europe had come together to study and advance solutions for the future of Afghanistan as part of the Atlantic Council / Rockefeller Brothers Fund Strategic Dialogues. Chaired by Secretary Madeleine Albright, Rector Federica Mogherini, and Chairperson Shaharzad Akbar, the Dialogues sought to look beyond the current moment and focus on a long-term strategic outlook that ensures stability in Afghanistan in line with Afghan, US, and European interests and values.

As Afghanistan and its partners in the United States and Europe prepared to chart a course for the future, the Dialogues group released the Transatlantic Charter on Afghan Sovereignty, Security, and Development, a landmark document that proposes key tenets for the trilateral relationship: the essential need for deeper cooperation and coordination with Afghans as critical partners; the understanding that durable peace must be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned; the importance of reaching a strategic consensus on relations between Afghanistan and its neighbors based on non-interference, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; and the critical necessity of moving beyond short-term deadlines and instead adopting a long-term perspective in advancing peace, security, and stability in Afghanistan.

The Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center hosted an expert discussion on April 23, 2021, on the future of Afghanistan and the exclusive launch of the Transatlantic Charter on Afghanistan as part of the Strategic Dialogues on and with Afghanistan.

An #ACFrontPage Event

Feature

Apr 22, 2021

A transatlantic charter for peace and security in Afghanistan

By South Asia Center

The Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center presents the exclusive launch of the Transatlantic Charter on Afghanistan as part of the Strategic Dialogues on and with Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Europe & Eurasia

Featuring

Secretary Madeleine Albright
Former US Secretary of State

Chairperson Shaharzad Akbar
Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission

Rector Federica Mogherini
Former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security

Ambassador James Cunningham
Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan;
Non-resident senior fellow, Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center

Welcome remarks by

Fred Kempe
President & CEO
Atlantic Council

Introductory remarks by

Stephen Heintz
President & CEO
Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Moderated by

Roger Cohen
Chief Correspondent in Paris and former Op-Ed Columnist
The New York Times

On Twitter? Follow the conversation with @AtlanticCouncil and @ACSouthAsia using #ACFrontPage

Strategic dialogues on Afghanistan

Developing a long-term transatlantic framework for peace and security in Afghanistan

Between fall 2020 and summer 2021, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center will host a set of private, high-level strategic dialogues to develop and advocate for a longer-term strategic outlook for ensuring stability in Afghanistan as well as maintaining US and European counter-terrorism interests. This effort will look beyond the US elections, recognizing that a political consensus is emerging to support a drawdown in US security commitments, but no such consensus exists on the long-term relationship with Afghanistan.

Related content