Ladies and Gentlemen of the press,
 
We just finished the main session of our meeting.
 
Another session is now taking place with representatives of the civil society of Afghanistan.
 
There is a total identity of points of view of all members in relation to the end game: What do we want?
 
We want an Afghanistan in peace.
 
Peace with itself and peace with its neighbors.
 
Able to assume the commitments and international obligations of a sovereign state and at the same time, doing so in relation to the international community, the other countries, its neighbors, and in relation to the rights of its own population.
 
At that same time an Afghanistan fully integrated in all the mechanisms, political and economic, of the international community.
 
This is the objective, the endgame.
 
To reach this endgame, there was also total consensus in relation to the programmatic proposals, included in the independent review that was conducted by Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioğlu, and that cover all the main areas of concern of both the international community and of the de facto authorities of Afghanistan.
 
First, the need for Afghanistan not to be the hotbed of terrorist activities that impact other countries.
 
Second, the vision of Afghanistan with inclusive institutions in which its diverse groups - we have Uzbeks, Tajiks, Pashtuns, Hazaras - all feel represented in a state that is truly inclusive.
 
Third, a concern about the respect of human rights and, in particular, the rights of women and girls.
 
We can see that it is essential to revoke the decisions that do not allow girls to be in secondary and tertiary school and do not allow women to effectively work in the majority of the professions.

Then a concern, but at the same time with recognition of the progress made, in relation to the questions of drug trafficking and drug cultivation.
 
From the point of view of the interests of Afghanistan, the need for a more effective humanitarian aid, covering more basic needs of the population of Afghanistan, and also to put on the table the questions related to the long-term development of Afghanistan.
 
So, in relation to all these aspects, the programmatic aspects of the independent review, there was a total consensus among the group.
 
On the other hand, we recognize that in a number of aspects, a lot of things are happening on the ground.
 
There is a very intense economic cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbors.
 
In trade, in infrastructure, in water, in other dimensions, and that is positive.
 
There are different forms of bilateral engagement.
 
For instance, cooperation with Afghanistan in relation to the suppression of drug cultivation.
 
Cooperation in relation to fighting ISIS and different, other forms of relationships and cooperation with the de facto authorities.
 
Our group considers that those things are positive, that those things should move on.
 
But we also recognize that there is an essential set of questions in which we are stuck.
 
On one hand, Afghanistan remains with a government that is not recognized internationally and, in many aspects, not integrated in the global institutions and in the global economy.
 
And on the other hand, there is in the international community a perception that inclusivity has not improved;
 
that the situation of women and girls and human rights in general has in fact deteriorated in recent times;
 
and that the problems of the fight against terrorism are not entirely solved.
 
So, to a certain extent, we are in a kind of a situation of the chicken and the egg, which means with the Taliban thinking that the concerns of the international community are not their business and wanting recognition and integration and the international community thinking that there is no progress in relation to its main concerns, and so there is no progress also in the questions of recognition and integration.
 
One of our main objectives is to overcome this deadlock and to make sure that there is a roadmap in which both things can move and move forward in a positive way to create the conditions in which the concerns of the international community are taken into account but the concerns of the de facto authorities of Afghanistan are also taken into account simultaneously.
 
In that regard, we recognize that there are different forms of organization within the international community.
 
There are several bilateral engagements with the Taliban.
 
There are different formats of groups in different parts of the world.
 
And there is a need for better coordination.
 
In that regard, we discussed the Security Council resolution that asks me to appoint an envoy, a UN envoy but with a deep consultation with all the interested parties: member states and the de facto Afghan authorities but also other sectors of the Afghan society.
 
It was decided that I would initiate a serious process of consultations to see if there are conditions to create a UN Envoy that might be able not only to have a coordinating role in relation to the engagements that are taking place but that can also work effectively with the de facto authorities of Afghanistan.
 
I will initiate immediately those consultations, reporting back, naturally, to the Security Council.
 
On the other hand, there was a decision that this format, that has today concluded its second meeting, this format should be a standing format and that we would be able to meet more often, probably with different levels in its composition depending on what is discussed.
 
But also creating the conditions for a next meeting to have the presence of the de facto authorities of Afghanistan that this time did not accept, as you know, my invitation.
 
On the other hand, we also discussed - of course, it's not for the UN to have a role on that, it's strictly at the competence of member states. But we also discussed and it is one of the recommendations of the review – we also discussed the interest of the creation of a contact group with a more limited number of states able to have a more coordinated approach in the engagement with the de facto authorities.
 
It is up to member states to decide how to create it.
 
I made a personal suggestion. For instance, the P-5 with a group of neighboring countries and a group of relevant donors.
 
If the three parts combined could create a contact group, I believe it would be a way to have coherence in the way the international community is engaging with the de facto authorities of Afghanistan.
 
But again, that was a personal idea.
 
It's up to member states to decide or not, to form this contact group.
 
This meeting, as you see, was extremely productive.
 
We reached consensus on, I would say, the key issues that are to be discussed between the international community and the de facto authorities and an important set of operational conclusions to allow us to be more effective in the future.
 
I sincerely hope that these will produce results.