On the sidelines of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process Conference in Afghanistan, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz and the two sides discussed boosting of bilateral ties to restore regional peace and security, especially in Afghanistan.
The two parties stressed that strengthening regional cooperation in order to bolster the international campaign against terrorism and extremism is a dire need today.
Having arrived in Pakistan’s capital, Zarif had deemed extremism and terrorism as the main threats against the regional peace and security adding “I will elaborate on the need for strengthening the campaign against terrorism and extremism in my address at the conference.”
The two-day conference opens today December 9 at ministerial level with attendance of more than 40 member and supporter countries as well as more 10 international and regional bodies aiming to strengthen cooperation to resolve issues and improve Afghanistan’s security.
Iran’s Zarif is scheduled to give a speech at the conference offering Iran’s positions and strategies to strengthen peace and stability in the heart of Asia especially Afghanistan and will meet several senior diplomats as well as his Chinese and Indian counterparts.
The Iranian FM might also meet the Presdident of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani during his one-day trip to Pakistan.
Foreign Ministers of Iran, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are attending the conference.
Representatives from Russia as well as a US deputy secretary of state are also participating in the event.
Heart of Asia has 14 member states including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Russia, India, Azerbaijan Republic, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The supporter countries include the US, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Finland, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Britain.
The first conference at the ministerial level was held in Turkey’s Istanbul in 2011 while the following sessions were hosted by Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and China in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Because Turkey was one of initiators of the conference, the conference is also known as Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process.
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