Statement: US national security adviser arrives s Kabul

KABUL – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani met Sunday with U.S. National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster and discussed mutual co-operation in Afghanistan’s fight against the Taliban and Islamic State group.

A statement released Sunday said both sides talked about bilateral relations between the two countries in the arenas of security, counter-terrorism, regional issues and economic development.

Ghani said in the statement that terrorism is a serious threat to security and stability in the region and the world and that if it is not defeated, it could affect the lives of future generations.

In an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” said that in the past the U.S. didn’t have as reliable a partner in the Afghan government as the U.S. would have liked but with Ghani in power that has changed.

“Now we have a much more reliable Afghan partner and we have reduced to considerably the degree and scope of our effort,” he said.

Afghan forces have worked to combat the Taliban since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission more than two years ago and shifted to a support and counterterrorism mission.

This is the first visit by a U.S. official since the U.S. military dropped the biggest non-nuclear bomb it has ever used Thursday killing 94 militants in eastern Afghanistan.