DUSHANBE, December 8, Asia-Plus – Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov is participating in the 5th Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process Meeting on Afghanistan that kicked off in Islamabad yesterday.
The meeting is expected to end today with adoption of an important document “Islamabad Declaration” to set direction for the economic development in Afghanistan.
While in Islamabad, Aslov is scheduled to hold a number of bilateral meetings with heads of delegations participating in the conference.
According to Pakistani media outlets, the 5th Heart of Asia Ministerial Meeting on Afghanistan has brought together the foreign ministers of 26 countries.
Heart of Asia – the Istanbul Process that began in 2011, have 14 members including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and UAE.
In addition, there are 12 supporting countries including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Iraq, Japan, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, UK and US.
The process seeks peace and development in Afghanistan and regional cooperation. Apart from combating terrorism and extremism, the forum seeks to promote economic development in the region. It also aims at promoting cooperation in the region in curbing drugs trade and other organized crimes in the region.
Meanwhile, the Heart of Asia- Istanbul Process Ambassadors Meeting took place in Kabul on December 5. The meeting was reportedly attended by the ambassadors and representatives of the Heart of Asia countries, supporting countries and offices of the regional and international organizations. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the text of the Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference Joint Draft Declaration.
The ambassadors and representatives of the supporting countries and regional organizations reiterated their support for the process. Many representatives of the supporting countries expressed that peace and reconciliation with the Taliban, more emphasis on countering terrorism with specific proposals, and surge of migration as a latest development in the world should be referenced in the declaration. The representatives discussed the text of the declaration and made progress on some articles of the draft.
