Turkey to host regional conference

A regional conference on Afghanistan is scheduled to be held on 2^nd November in Ankara Turkey. 13 regional countries, along with Pakistan, Afghanistan Iran, including the United States and India, will attend the conference amidst new developments
in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

But Afghanistan will be the central focus of the conference. “At such a critical time through which Afghanistan is going, having close contact with third countries and partners involved in assisting Afghanistan is very important,” Burak Akçapar, deputy director-general
for South Asia at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, said.

Turkey is taking immense interest in South Asia. Turkey says it intends to help facilitate and develop a better understanding among the regional countries. The fact that India too is invited in the conference serves as an evidence of Turkey’s intention to
extend its influence in the region.

The US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Indian Foregin Minister S. M. Krishna, and their counterparts from other countries would be part of the conference that deliberates over the future of Afghanistan in the context of US announcement of military withdrawal
from Afghanistan in 2014.

However, prior to the regional conference, the Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari will meet his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai. The trilateral talks hold importance because they come in the backdrop of growing insurgency in Afghanistan which is blamed
on Haqqani network that the US accuses operates from the porous western borders of Pakistan.

It is in this context, especially when there is a sense of mistrust, that the talks become important.

“We sense that they have a genuine wish to talk to each other because they realise this trend is not helping either of them,” the official said, speaking on the eve of Tuesday’s summit between Presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, Asif Zardari of Pakistan
and Abdullah Gul of Turkey.

That the US too will attend the regional conference along with other countries underscores the significance of the event. After the signing of strategic partnership between Afghanistan and India, there are more concerns in Pakistan.

With 14 countries meeting in the regional conference, it will be an opportunity for Pakistan to send its message across the board and remove the growing mistrust regarding the country.

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Posted by Sajjad Hussain on Nov 1 2011. Filed under South Asia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry