Turkey- 'Heart of Asia' meet ends with call for Afghanistan talks

(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) At the closing session of the fifth "Heart of Asia" conference held in Islamabad on Wednesday the leaders of 14 countries called for a "joint mechanism" to counter security threats and terrorism in the region and for increasing trade and economic cooperation among participating states.

The closing session of the two-day conference -- which was held within the framework of the Istanbul Ministerial Process -- was jointly inaugurated by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while foreign ministers from 14 participating countries attended the session.

FMs and other top government officials from India Afghanistan Iran China Russia Turkey Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Saudi Arabia Tajikistan Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates participated in the conference.

The focus of the closing session was on war-torn Afghanistan and its impact on regional security.

Ghani dwelt upon the scourge of terrorism the refugee crisis and the "unintended consequences" of military operations against the Taliban in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt.

According to the Afghan president military operations had forced between 350000 and 500000 Pakistani tribesmen to take refuge on Afghan soil.

Ongoing operations had also brought a significant number of terrorist groups onto Afghan soil he added going on to laud the Pakistani offensive in the tribal belt.

"Al-Qaeda Daesh and terrorists from China Russia Uzbekistan Tajikistan and the Middle East are all unfortunately present on our soil" he asserted.

Pakistan and Afghanistan which share a 2200-kilometer border often accuse one another of harboring Taliban militants on their respective territories.

"A mechanism for regional cooperation should be developed to examine how the networks of terror coordinate; co-finance; what their linkage is with the criminal economy; how radicalism is shaping and maligning our holy religion; and our opportunities for global engagement and dialogue" Ghani said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his part said Afghanistan was "more than a neighbor" to his country.

Vowing to support the Afghan-led peace process aimed at ending the 13-year insurgency Sharif described the process as the most viable option for ending violence and promoting stability in Afghanistan.

"The emergence of newer and more threatening terrorist groups like Daesh should also strengthen our resolve against terrorism" Sharif said.

"We should envisage collective and coordinated measures on the regional security front to ensure that the gains and struggle against terrorism are durable and irreversible" he added.

Also speaking at the conference Indian Foreign Minister Shushma Swaraj extended a hand to Pakistan saying India sought Islamabad’s help in promoting regional trade and improving security in Afghanistan.

"It is time we [Pakistan and India] display the maturity and self-confidence to do business with each other" she said. "The entire world is watching and we must not disappoint them."

Swaraj added: "Nothing can benefit Afghanistan more immediately than full and direct access to India’s markets to enable it to take advantage of the zero-duty regime."

She also stressed her country’s longtime willingness to sign on to the Afghanistan-Pakistan trade and transit agreement.

- Peace talks

A joint declaration issued at the conclusion of the fifth Heart of Asia conference called for the resumption of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban with a view to ending the ongoing insurgency.

"We give credence to the idea of resolving conflicts through peaceful negotiations and urge full support by Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process countries to Afghanistan in implementing Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation initiatives" the declaration -- endorsed by all 14 participating countries -- said.

It added: "We urge all Afghan Taliban groups and all other armed opposition groups to enter into peace talks with the Afghan government."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi while addressing conference participants earlier offered to host dialogue talks between Kabul and the Taliban.