Prospects for Peace in Afghanistan: Past, Present and Future

Sir Nicholas Kay, KCMG (@NicholasK111) is a serving UK diplomat.  He will be speaking in a personal capacity.

Sir Nicholas was the UK Regional Coordinator for Southern Afghanistan and the first Head of the Provincial Reconstruction Team for Helmand Province from 2006 to 2007.  He returned as Ambassador in Kabul from 2017 to 2018.  In 2019-20 he was the NATO Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan, a role which involved him intimately in the US-brokered peace talks with the Taliban.

Between his involvements with Afgahanistan, Sir Nicholas was Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2007-10 and Ambassador to Sudan 2010-2012.  In 2012-13 Sir Nicholas was Africa Director in the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office after which he became the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia in 2013-16 and UK Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa in 2016-2017.

Joining the talk as moderator of questions will be David Loyn (@DavidLoyn).  David is a writer and former BBC foreign correspondent.  He has been a regular visitor to Afghanistan for many years, including being the only foreign journalist with the Taliban when they captured Kabul in 1996.  He spent 2017-18 as advisor on strategic communications to President Ashraf Ghani:  an experience which he is currently incorporating into a new book. .