‘Heart of Asia’ Meets to Connect with Afghanistan

The fifth ‘Heart of Asia’ conference in Islamabad was marked by a warm welcome from Pakistani authorities to visiting dignitaries from India, Afghanistan, China among other 11 Asian countries in Central Asia and West Asia. The meet is part of the “Istanbul Process” to place Afghanistan at the “Heart of Asia” and thus provide place and stability to the region.

The theme of the conference, jointly hosted by Pakistan and Afghanistan, is ‘enhanced cooperation for countering security threats and promoting connectivity in the Heart of Asia region.’

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani arrived at the Nur Khan airbase to a resounding 21-gun salute.

Also in the spotlight was Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, who arrived in Islamabad.

Ashraf Ghani’s strong message

Afghanistan claims to host close to 350,000 to 500,000 Pakistani refugees on its soil.

The Taliban which began as an Afghan phenomena have become a regional phenomena, the Afghan president said.

“The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan launched a vicious attack on children in Peshawar for which they robustly responded. But that very response brought them onto our country. Until now we have launched 40 operations through our Special Forces against them... What is the nature of the Taliban and how do we deal with it?”

“Al Qaeda, Daesh and terrorists from China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, the Middle East are all, unfortunately, present on Afghan soil.”

Sushma Swaraj Promises to Afghan Prez

• Afghan trucks could carry Indian products to markets in Afghanistan and Central Asia, that would be the best way to make trucking from Afghanistan cost-effective and viable, and bestow benefits to the whole region.

• India is willing to receive Afghan trucks on its territory, at Attari, and create necessary facilities for Afghan products there. 

• India is ready to join the Afghanistan-Pakistan Trade and Transit Agreement. 

• India is also working with Afghanistan and Iran to develop trilateral transit. Participation in development of the Chahbahar Port will augment our connectivity with Afghanistan and beyond. 

• India’s engagement in the Trade, Commerce and Investment (TCI) CBM within the Heart of Asia process as the lead country complements our bilateral development cooperation with Afghanistan, including in the spheres of infrastructure, connectivity and capacity building. 

Sushma invited the ministers for the 6th Heart of Asia summit to be held in India in 2016. She accompanied by Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan TCA Raghavan and envoy to Afghanistan Amar Sinha.

‘We are the ones who are daily suffering some of the worst atrocities, including the butchering of our children and elderly.’

Recalling a speech in Beijing last year, Ghani said: “I spoke of four transitions: The political transition, the security transition, the economic transition and, most significantly, the transition to turn the culture of the state to being citizen focused.”

He presented a run-down of the part Afghanistan played to establish regional cooperation in 2015:

• Turkmen railways, transmission lines, highways, gas pipelines and oil pipelines reaching Afghanistan

• TAPI pipeline to be inaugurated in Turkmenistan

• Transmission line from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan

• Gas pipeline accords, including CASA-1000

• Charbahar port which India and Iran jointly invested in

• Five-Nation agreements on railways with China

• Highway programme to link Herat to Iran, Turkmenistan and will open way for Iran to Tajikistan and China

• Special economic zones planned in each of Afghanistan’s nine airports between 2016-2032 which will be able to earn revenue of $32 billion

• India-Afghanistan Friendship Dam to operate starting spring 2016

• Next year, will generate 242 megawatts of power – 42MW from hydro, 100MW from natural gas, 100MW from solar energy and

“In short, Afghanistan is rapidly moving towards regional integration towards Central Asia, East Asia and West Asia.”

He said 36 per cent of Afghans live below the poverty line of $1.25. If the line were $2, he said, almost 70pc of Afghans would be below it.

“Poverty elimination is our most significant goal and I’m convinced that regional cooperation could allow us to have the types of growth that could allow us to tackle the most fundamental weakness – the poverty and exclusion of women, youth and the poor.”