Ottawa- August 18, 2020

The Embassy of Afghanistan in Ottawa hosted a virtual program with the Afghan-Canadian community this afternoon to celebrate the 101st anniversary of the restoration of Afghanistan’s independence.

Ambassador Hassan Soroosh delivered the opening remarks followed by remarks by Mr. Nasim Sharifi, the newly appointed Consul General of Afghanistan in Toronto. A number of scholars, experts, entrepreneurs and civil society activists from the Afghan-Canadian community from across Canada spoke about various aspects of bilateral cooperation, their ongoing programs as well as future joint activities with the embassy and consulates in Toronto and Vancouver. The program also included brief remarks and performance by the renowned Ustad Eltaf Hussain Sarahang.

The program was moderated by Mr. Sayed Mujtaba Ahmadi, Deputy Chief of Mission. Other colleagues from the embassy and consulates in Toronto and Vancouver were also present in the program.
Please visit our website for a more detailed report on the program at a later stage.

Ottawa- Agust 18, 2020

Ambassador Hassan Soroosh, along with the family and embassy staff, raised the national flag at the Ottawa city hall this morning, honoring the 101st anniversary of the restoration of Afghanistan’s independence.

Ottawa- Agust 18, 2020

Read the message by Ambassador Hassan Soroosh on the 101st Anniversary of the Restoration of Afghanistan’s Independence:

“Today, our fellow Afghans across the world including Afghan-Canadian community celebrate the 101st anniversary of the restoration of Afghanistan’s independence.
On behalf of my family, embassy staff and myself, I extend my best wishes to all who celebrate this auspicious occasion.
Our people’s love for independence and freedom and their resilience in the face of countless challenges and hardships has been a hallmark of our long and rich history.
The history has also been a testament to our people’s love for friendship and partnership with the wider world. As the crossroads of civilizations and an important hub in the ancient Silk Road, Afghanistan has historically made significant contributions to the expansion of trade, and promotion of art, culture and knowledge at a global level.
The past 19 years have been marked by a common journey between Afghanistan and the international community which can be exemplified by a growing partnership and multifaceted bilateral cooperation between Afghanistan and Canada based on shared priorities and values including peace, democracy, human rights, education and women’s empowerment.
We remain grateful for Canada’s continued support to Afghanistan including to the ongoing COVID-19 response efforts in the country. We pay tribute to all those courageous men and women from Canada who made the ultimate sacrifice alongside our security and defence forces to preserve our shared principles and values.
I also wish to thank the Afghan-Canadian community as well as friends of Afghanistan in Canada for their continued commitment and engagement towards expanding bilateral cooperation and deepening people-to-people contacts.
Our collective efforts and sacrifices in Afghanistan have culminated in considerable improvement in major areas including democratic process, economic growth, infrastructure development, education, health, access to justice, human capital development and women’s empowerment.

Afghanistan is now an active member of the international community and remains actively involved in many regional and international platforms, playing an important role in promoting multilateralism and global shared values.

Building on the vision for a new and progressive Afghanistan set forth following the restoration of Afghanistan’s independence in 1919 and pursued in the ensuing decades including in the past 19 years , our vision for the future is to build “a sovereign, unified, democratic Afghanistan at peace with itself, the region and the world, capable of preserving and expanding the gains of the past two decades”. A country that would serve as a regional and continental hub for trade and transit and an important driver of economic growth, development and stability in the wider region and beyond.
As the Afghan peace process is reaching an important phase, preservation of the gains of the past 19 years and consolidation of the ongoing collective efforts through a long-term partnership between Afghanistan and our international partners including Canada remain crucial in achieving this noble vision.”

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Consular Section in Ottawa will remain closed on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, on the occasion of Afghan National Day.

.به اطلاع عموم مراجعین محترم سفارت جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان در کانادا رسانیده می شود که سفارت و بخش قونسلی آن به روز سه شنبه، تاریخ ۱۸اگست۲۰۲۰ به مناسبت یکصدو یکمین سالگرد استرداد استقلال مسدود می باشد

.په اوتاوا-کاناډا کې د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت سفارت محترمو مراجعینو ته پهدرنښت خبر ورکول کیږي، چې د سفارت د قونسلي چارو څانګه به د سی شنبې په ورځ، چې د ۲۰۲۰ کال د اګست میاشتې له 18 سره سمون لري،  دهیواد د خپلواکۍ د بیرته ترلاسه کولو د یو سل یو مې (101) کلیزي په مناسبت رخصت وي

Ottawa- August 16, 2020

As another inspiring example of Afghan women’s courage and perseverance, three Afghan girls, as part of a 9-member team, climbed the highest mountain in Afghanistan and stood on top of Noshakh (7492m) holding the Afghan flag.

Our sincere congratulations to the entire team and wish you all further success!

The Afghan people want peace. This has been our constant demand and foremost priority for four decades, an entire lifetime for most of us. In June 2018, the Afghan government, and our people, took a risk for peace by initiating the country’s first cease-fire since 2001. It allowed us, for three days, to not only want peace but to live it. Over the past two years, we have taken multiple risks in the pursuit of peace because we cannot afford to pay the costs of failure.

 Last week, we made the decision to take another risk for peace. After releasing 4,600 Taliban prisoners to facilitate certain conditions of the U.S.-Taliban deal of Feb. 29, we were confronted with the difficult issue of releasing 400 remaining prisoners convicted of serious crimes, including the killing of Afghans and citizens of the international community. We were assured that their release would fulfill the Taliban’s final demand before facing us at the negotiating table.

This was not a risk I could take alone, constitutionally or morally, without consulting the Afghan people. Earlier this week, 3,400 women and men from all provinces of Afghanistan and all strata of society came together, in the presence of the country’s political leadership, at a consultative assembly known as a Loya Jirga, to deliberate and debate. They decided to approve the release of the prisoners, and the next day I signed the order. It was the Afghan people’s latest, and boldest, risk for peace.

In 2018, we knew peace would be costly, but we did not know what those costs would be. We do know now, and we have paid heavily. The cost of releasing these 5,000 prisoners meant, among other things, denying justice and healing for the families of those they murdered. Since March, we have also paid for peace with intensified Taliban violence. Over the past five months, while Afghan security forces maintained a defensive posture, the Taliban and associated terrorist groups (which the Taliban has yet to publicly renounce) killed or wounded 12,279 Afghan security forces and civilians, according to our own figures.

We have paid with our lives — tens of thousands of Afghan lives, including even our tiniest, most precious and innocent lives.

We have paid the costs. There must now be a dividend of peace for the Afghan people.

Now, despite the violence, Afghans are coming to the negotiating table with renewed momentum for peace, a stronger relationship between the government and citizens, a better sense of coordination with our international partners, and unity among our political leaders.

Assurances will no longer be enough to propel the peace process forward. It is now time for the Taliban to sit across from the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in earnest, in order to reach a political solution and to declare a comprehensive cease-fire. We acknowledge the Taliban as part of our reality, and we are solidly committed to reaching a political deal that accommodates this reality. The Taliban must, in turn, acknowledge the changed reality of today’s Afghanistan. The Taliban must work with us to preserve and expand the gains the Afghan people have made over the past 19 years, including for the benefit of the thousands of Taliban fighters, and refugees and returnees, who will need to be immediately reintegrated into society.

The international community will play an important role as facilitators and mediators of the talks, ensuring that momentum, and a level playing field, are maintained. Our international partners must also continue to stand firm for the values and principles in which we have all invested for 20 years.

The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces have not only been sacrificing to preserve and protect our country but also in pursuit of counterterrorism objectives that we share with the United States and the international community. Our forces took over full responsibility for combat operations from foreign troops in January 2015, and since then the Afghan government has taken measures to substantially reduce the burden on U.S. taxpayers. We thank the United States and our international partners for their continued support of our security forces, which will be critical as we move forward with the peace process.

We share a vision with the United States and our international partners for the outcome of our talks with the Taliban: a sovereign, unified, democratic Afghanistan at peace with itself, the region and world, capable of preserving and expanding the gains of the past two decades.

We must all come together to achieve this vision. It will require a different kind of strength than war. It will require us to practice patience, make compromises and pay further costs toward the price of peace. But to fail in our pursuit of a sustainable peace is not an option; it would demand a far deadlier price — one that the Afghan people, and our international partners, cannot afford to pay.

With around %65 of the population under 25 years of age, Afghanistan has one of the youngest populations in the world. Thanks to an enabling environment, a growing number of young leaders including as ministers, ambassadors, governors, mayors, MPs, journalists, civil society activists and entrepreneurs are making significant contributions to peace, democratic process and development in Afghanistan.

Photo: Kabul, National Youth Symposium 2018

فرا رسیدن عید سعید اضحی مبارک باد!
لوی اختر مو مبارک شه!
قربان هییتینگیز قوتلوق بولسین!
Happy Eid Al Adha!
Joyeux Eid Al Adha!