Participants of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan said in a statement on Thursday that they all respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and that further practical engagement with Afghanistan was needed.

In a joint statement issued by special representatives from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, they said the sides “reaffirmed their commitment to Afghanistan as a peaceful, indivisible, independent, economically developing State, free of terrorism and drug-related crime and respecting the basic norms in the human rights area.”

This comes after Wednesday’s high-level meeting in Moscow that involved representatives from 10 countries and a high-level delegation from Afghanistan, including Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi.

The United States did not attend the key meeting and cited logistical problems as the reason for their non-attendance.

It was stated that further practical engagement with Afghanistan needed to take into account the new reality, that is the Islamic Emirate coming to power in the country, “irrespective of the official recognition of the new Afghan government by the international community.”

Participating countries also called on the current Afghan leadership to take further steps to improve governance and to form a truly inclusive government that adequately reflects the interests of all major ethno-political forces in the country.

“This will be a fundamental prerequisite for the completion of the national reconciliation process in Afghanistan,” the statement read.

The participating countries also called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to practice moderate and sound internal and external policies, adopt friendly policies towards neighboring countries, achieve the shared goals of durable peace, security, safety, and long-term prosperity, and respect the rights of ethnic groups, women and children.

“Being concerned about the activities of proscribed terrorist organizations in Afghanistan, the sides reaffirmed their willingness to continue to promote security in Afghanistan to contribute to regional stability.

“The participating countries were pleased to note the reaffirmation by the interim Afghan government of its previous commitments to prevent use of the Afghan territory against its neighbours, other States in the region and the rest of the world,” the statement read.

Expressing deep concern over the deteriorating economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, the sides expressed the need for the international community to mobilize consolidated efforts to provide urgent humanitarian and economic assistance to the Afghan people.

“In this context, the sides have proposed to launch a collective initiative to convene a broad-based international donor conference under the auspices of the United Nations as soon as possible, certainly with the understanding that the core burden of post-conflict economic and financial reconstruction and development of Afghanistan must be shouldered by troop-based actors which were in the country for the past 20 years,” the statement read.