In a sign of thawing relations, a US delegation for the first time co-hosted a business conference with Taliban leaders in Afghanistan to work on a plan to rebuild the economy and address acute poverty in the face of reduced international aid.

“Our commitment is we’re going to help to elevate private sector activities,” Jeffrey Greico, the president of Washington-based Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce, said at the conference in Kabul on Wednesday. “As private sector representatives, we need to help develop Afghanistan from a very significant infrastructural standpoint.”