Statement by President von der Leyen at the joint press conference with President Michel following the G7 leaders' meeting on Afghanistan via videoconference
![](https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/repository/picture/2021-35/P051678646017_NdB2BtSZ6WVoPUbCZdxP3og6Nbs_75281.jpg)
date: 31/08/2021
"We all agreed that it is our moral duty to help the Afghan people and to provide as much support as possible as conditions allow. The situation is indeed a tragedy for the Afghan people and it is a major setback for the international community. It was therefore timely that the G7 met and it was very good that we had as guest the NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, and the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres. In this meeting of the G7, we discussed evacuations, immediate humanitarian aid, longer-term development assistance and possible scenarios for refugees in need of protection.
On the humanitarian aid let me tell you that our key EU operations on medical facilities, food distribution, emergency water supply and sanitation are mostly still running. That is good. But of course, the events we see these days create significant additional needs."
... Read all the statement by President Von Der Leyen