What is the current situation and prospects of Afghanistan?, Academic updates | US military withdrawals after two years | Afghanistan | US military
On August 30th, two years ago, the US military announced the completion of its evacuation mission from Afghanistan. The hasty withdrawal process was recorded as the "Kabul moment" in history, while the Taliban in Afghanistan regained power. Two years have passed, what is the current situation in Afghanistan? What kind of development prospects are we facing?
On September 13th, a high-end forum titled "The Second Anniversary of Taliban Governance in Afghanistan: Current Situation and Prospects" was held at the International Studies Institute of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and scholars discussed this topic.
The attending scholars believe that after two years, the Afghanistan issue remains important and cannot be ignored due to other international issues. The changes in Afghanistan two years ago marked a comprehensive failure of the United States in military, political, counter-terrorism, and strategic aspects in Afghanistan. As Afghanistan's largest neighboring country, China has been responsible and constructive in helping stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan, and promoting the political resolution process of the Afghan issue for the past two years.
Over the past two years, the interim government of Afghanistan has taken a series of measures in restoring the economy, ensuring people's livelihoods, promoting drug control, combating corruption, and improving public security. In the view of attending scholars, the current situation in Afghanistan has basically achieved a smooth transition, and the main opposition cannot pose a threat domestically. The interim government has also established a governance system that is in line with the modern world, showing a posture of opening up domestic markets to the world and a strong determination to ban opium. Although there has been no fundamental change in the deterioration of the local economy, the continuous downward trend has temporarily stopped.
However, scholars point out that the future of Afghanistan still faces confusion and hesitation regarding its development prospects. There are still expectations from the outside world for the interim government of Afghanistan in building a more extensive and inclusive political structure, safeguarding the rights and interests of all people, including women and ethnic minorities, and in combating terrorism, extremism, and separatism.
The attending scholars believe that Afghanistan is still facing a serious humanitarian crisis and its economy is heavily dependent on foreign aid. Although the interim government of Afghanistan has inherent development intentions, it still faces difficulties in economic recovery, social governance, and diplomacy, and requires time for transition.
The forum was co sponsored by the Institute of International Studies of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and the "the Belt and Road" Research Center of Lanzhou University.