Representatives of the Taliban movement have been invited to participated in a two-day Herat Security Dialogue that is kicking off in Dushanbe today.

Davood Moradian, Director-General of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS), told reporters in Dushanbe on November 24 that representatives of all political groups of Afghanistan, including the Taliban, have been invited to participate in the 11th Herat Security Dialogue (HSD- XI) in Dushanbe.  

“Invitation has been sent, but whether they will participate in the meeting or not is still unclear,” Mr. Moradian said.  

According to him, the meeting participants will discuss various issues related to the current situation in Afghanistan, including the national dialogue for development of democracy, gender equality, humanitarian aid delivery, going back to the civilized traditional Islam and solidarity with neighbors.

Dushanbe is hosting the 11th Herat Security Dialogue (HSD- XI), which being held here from November 27-28 under the theme of “Reimagining Afghanistan: Ways Forward”.

The previous 10th Herat Security Dialogue (HSD- X) was also held in Dushanbe on November 29-30 last year under the theme of “Inclusive Political System: The Way forward”. 

After more than two years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the situation in the country continues to deteriorate steadily. Over this period, Afghanistan's economic state has significantly worsened.

The Afghan conflict is becoming one of the world’s longest-running conflicts.  The 1973 coup heralded five decades of unending political instability, regime change, foreign invasion, civil war, political oppression, and more importantly human suffusing.

The Herat Security Dialogue (HSD) is an annual international conference, held by the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS). It is attended by government officials, international organization delegates, legislators, academic experts, distinguished journalists, business delegates, media and civil society representatives.

Established in Afghanistan in October 2012, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) is a premier research institution aimed at creating an intellectual space for addressing strategic issues pertaining to Afghanistan in the wider regional and international contexts.  AISS seeks to foster timely discussions on Afghanistan by publishing high-quality research reports and promoting dialogue amongst a wide spectrum of stakeholders.  

Afghanistan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS)  has opened its UK office  after the collapse of Afghanistan to resume AISS activities following its relocation to the UK.  AISS-UK was established within the University of Sussex with the logistics, academic and intellectual support of the University of Sussex, and financial support of Research England, and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to continue its activities.  AISS-UK has acquired legal and corporate status under legal registration of the UK Company House as an independent research organization.