KABUL – Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday on an unannounced official visit, following the ninth round of ongoing US-Taliban peace talks in Doha, the president’s office said.
“The President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, led by a senior government delegation, arrived in Saudi Arabia on an official visit,” the office said.
(1/6) د افغانستان د اسلامي جمهوریت جمهور رئیس محمداشرف غني نن له غرمې مخکې په جده ښار کې د اسلامي همکاریو سازمان سکرتر جنرال ډاکټر یوسف بن احمدالعثیمین سره وکتل. pic.twitter.com/DmS8HfM09Y
— ارگ (@ARG_AFG) August 25, 2019
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz received the President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani at the al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Sunday, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The unannounced visit comes after the US-Taliban peace talks in Qatar, during which, on Thursday, the two sides reached a tentative agreement on a time frame for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
Ghani views Saudi Arabia as an important periphery player the Afghan peace process. In July, Ghani discussed the matter with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the phone.
