On Thursday, February 4, 2021, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) held a roundtable discussion on “Afghanistan-US Relations in Biden Era". Rahmatullah Nabil, former director of National Directorate of Security; Ahmad Shuja Jamal, head of International Relations and Regional Cooperation at the Office of the National Security Council; Asadullah Saadati, deputy Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation; Dr. Omar Sharifi, director of American Institute for Afghanistan Studies, were the speakers of the program. The event was moderated by Razia Danesh, university lecturer.

Mr. Rahmatullah Nabil said that the new US administration differs from the previous one in some areas, one of which is the US realistic view of countries including Afghanistan, while the dominant view in the previous administration was person-centered. Regarding the peace in Afghanistan, he said that the issue of the republic system should have been raised from the beginning of the peace talks, but it was marginalized and is now in a weak position, and at the same time, Afghan politicians are fragmented. He continued, "In the peace debate, the views of all sections of society must be taken into account, and this will make everyone feel owner of the process." According to Nabil, we need to have an accurate and deep knowledge of the enemy and fight against it on different fronts, otherwise real peace will not be achieved.

Asadullah Saadati said that with the establishment of the new administration in the United States, relations between Afghanistan and the United States have become structured. This is despite the fact that in the previous administration, relations were more person-centered, but US interests have always been at the forefront, and a clear example of that was the US peace talks with the Taliban, which took place without consulting the Afghan government. According to Saadati, the withdrawal of US troops will depend on the progress of peace talks and objective realities in Afghanistan. Recently, Saadati said that the peace process is not out of the way and the talk of the interim government does not help this process, it is necessary to first reach an understanding on other issues, including the type of system.

Ahmad Shuja Jamal believes that with Biden in the White House, the United States has returned to its original tradition of defending values and democracy. According to him, Afghanistan's relation with the United States changed from person-oriented to structure-oriented. Jamal pointed to Trump's administration that the only voice in the US foreign policy on Afghanistan was Mr. Khalilzad; but with the new administration, there has been lots of controversies, from President Biden to the US Security Adviser commenting on the Afghan peace process and interacting with their Afghan counterparts. Jamal believes that an interim government at this time is not good for the system; it is necessary to discuss more important issues at this time.

Dr. Omar Sharifi said President Biden's view of Afghanistan is different from that of the previous US administration. According to Sharifi, the peace process in Afghanistan was for electoral reasons for Trump than peace-building. But the new US administration takes a deeper interest at the peace talks, and upholds new values such as democracy and human rights. These values will improve relations between the two countries, and these relations will be structured.