Afghan president, CEO meet ICRC president on boosting cooperation

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Monday met here with visiting President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Peter Maurer respectively on boosting cooperation and exchanging ideas on ICRC's operation in Afghanistan.

During their meeting, both the Afghan president and the ICRC president recognized the good cooperation between ICRC and the Afghan authorities. They exchanged views on the importance of international humanitarian law in a time of constantly evolving conflict actors and methods.

Maurer confirmed that ICRC is willing to explore possibilities of increasing its health activities in Afghanistan, notably the feasibility of expanding medical evacuations of war wounded.

In his meeting with the ICRC president earlier in the day, Abdullah appreciated ICRC's operation in Afghanistan and welcomed the announcement by Maurer that the international humanitarian organization will increase its budget for Afghanistan by 10 percent this year to a total of 90 million U.S. dollars.

They also agreed on further strengthening ICRC's detention works in Afghanistan.

Maurer underlined the importance of all conflict-related parties to respect the international humanitarian law, especially the protection of medical missions.

Abdullah and Maurer exchanged views on Afghan asylum seekers in European nations.

Maurer arrived in Kabul on Monday afternoon for a 5-day visit to Afghanistan. Besides meeting high-ranking Afghan officials, he is also expected to make field trips to provinces to meet displaced people, detainees and visit orthopedic centers. Endit