The U.S. envoy for Afghan peace Zalmay Khalilzad discussed the Afghan peace efforts with the Indian Foreign Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

“I reached out to Indian FM @DrSJaishankar yesterday to discuss the latest on the Afghan peace process. We talked about the urgency of resolving the internal political crisis and the importance of Afghan leaders forming an inclusive government,” Ambassador Khalilzad said in a Twitter post.

He also added “We also discussed the need for both the Afghan government and the Taliban to accelerate prisoner releases, support a prompt reduction in violence, and start intra-Afghan negotiations. We also spent some time covering the immediate and longer-term impact of the Coronavirus.”

“I told the Minister that the US welcomes Indian engagement in regional and international efforts for a lasting peace in #Afghanistan,” Khalilzad said, adding that “We are committed to a sustained engagement with #India on this objective.”

India has played a major role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. The country has invested over $2 billion in various reconstruction and infrastructure projects.