Afghan government negotiators prepare ahead of the meeting with the Taliban negotiating team in Qatar’s capital Doha on September, 12, 2020. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The meeting was to set the agenda for the talks, said the statement. 

Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, called the meeting an important first step, while US peace envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad called it an important achievement.