ADB-ICRIER Regional Cooperation Training Programme for Afghan Officials New Delhi, 11-23 June 2007 |
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One of the main objectives of the ADB capacity building project at the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been to identify and train officials involved in regional cooperation issues. To fulfil this objective, a two-week training programme for Afghan government officials was organised in Delhi from June 11 to 23, 2007. The training was organised in collaboration with the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). |
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 Inaugural session of the training programme is in progress |
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The aim was to acquaint officials about economic diplomacy, impact of security on regional cooperation, trade negotiations, evolution and institutional frameworks of different regional organizations (SAARC, SCO, ECO, CAREC, EU, ASEAN etc). Moreover, they had to be familiarised about regional cooperation in energy, infrastructure and labour issues. The course was coordinated jointly by Dr Gulshan Sachdeva, Team Leader of the ADB TA project and Mr T C A Srinivasa Raghavan from the ICRIER. A total of seventeen government officials (ten from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, three from the Ministry of Commerce and industry, two from the Afghan Embassy in Delhi, one each from the Afghanistan National Development Secretariat and the Regional Studies Centre of Afghanistan) participated in the programme. The delegation was led by Mr Abdul Qudus Khalil, Director, Regional Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan. The training took place at the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR) Conference Hall and the participants stayed at the nearby ICSSR guest house. The two week training had thirty sessions of two hours each. Experts from various fields spoke for about 90 minutes and the remaining time was utilised for discussions. It was inaugurated by the Indian Foreign Secretary H.E Mr Shivshankar Menon. He spoke about regional cooperation from the South Asian perspective. The timing of the programme was excellent, he said, since Afghanistan had just joined the South Asian Association for Regional cooperation (SAARC) formally. He further emphasised that at this point in history, we have a good chance of making regional cooperation a reality not only in South Asia but also in the broader extended region that we belong to. Moreover, the countries in the region prospered when they were linked with each other and with the world, he pointed out. |
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 Indian Foreign Secretary Mr Shivshankar Menon delivering the inaugural lecture. Also in the picture are Dr Gulshan Sachdeva, Team Leader ABD TA project at MoFA, Dr Sayeed M Raheen, Afghanistan Ambassador to India and Prof Ramesh Chandra of ICRIER. |
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The experts gave detailed information about the evolution, institutional structures and policy frameworks of various regional organisations. Dr Alka Acharya, Chairperson, Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), made a detailed presentation on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Two extensive presentations on the European Union were made by India’s former Ambassador to France and Germany Mr TCA Rangachari and by Dr Gulshan Sachdeva. The Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was covered by Prof Baladas Ghoshal of Centre for Policy Research while Mr Raza Jawad from ADB’s Afghanistan Mission made a presentation on Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation ( CAREC) and the South & Central Asian Trade and Transit Forum (CSATTF). |
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Since Afghanistan has just joined SAARC, there was special focus on the organisation. The idea was to expose Afghan officials to the institutional structures and issues concerning SAARC in detail. Ms Preeti Saran, Joint Secretary (SAARC) in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs made a presentation on the history, institutions and projects of the organisation. Former Dean of the School of International Studies, JNU Prof I N Mukherji presented a detailed analysis on the implications of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) for Afghanistan. Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India H.E. Mr C R Jayasinghe and Nepalese Charge d’ Affairs in India Mr Tara P Pokharal presented their respective country’s perspective on SAARC and regional cooperation. Since Afghanistan has strong linkages with the West & Central Asian regions, two separate presentations, one by Ambassador Hamid Ansari and the other by Dr Gulshan Sachdeva focussed on regional cooperation issues in the West and Central Asian regions. The presentations focussed on how specific political economy environments and presence of large natural resources in both of these regions are affecting the working of different regional organistaions like the CIS, SCO, CAREC, ECO, GCC etc. |
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Security and political issues are affecting cooperation in the region in a big way and no other country can understand this better than Afghanistan. Since these issues are fundamental to any meaningful cooperation in the region, a few sessions were devoted to understanding security complexities. Leading economic security expert from India, Dr Sanjaya Baru, who is also the media advisor to the Indian Prime Minister devoted his talk on linkages between security and economic issues in the region. Former Director of Institute for Defence Studies & Analysis (IDSA) Commodore C Uday Bhaskar explained the concepts of security and comprehensive security. He argued that countries in the region can improve their security through cooperation. IDSA Deputy Director Mr Virendra Gupta specifically focussed on difficult security issues in the region involving India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Executive Director of Observer Research foundation Prof S D Muni also touched upon political dimensions of different regional organisations, particularly ASEAN and SAARC. One of the leading scholars of International Relations Prof Varun Sahni, who teaches at the School of International Studies, JNU explained how the evolving regional security architecture in Asia would be sustainable only if two of the major powers in Asia viz. China and India cooperate with each other. Vice Admiral Raman Puri touched upon maritime dimension of regional cooperation. He also focussed on problems and maritime rights of land-locked countries like Afghanistan. |
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The political economy of regional cooperation in the energy sector was discussed in detail. One of the leading Indian experts on energy security, Ambassador Talmiz Ahmed explained the concept of energy security and specific details of energy pipeline projects like Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI), the Myanmar-Bangladesh-India and Myanmar-India pipeline via North-eastern India. Mr Sidhartha Varadharajan, Deputy Editor, Hindu newspaper focussed on the geopolitics of oil in the Middle-East and Central Asia. To familiarise participants with the history of GATT and World Trade Organisation (WTO) and to understand how regional trading organisations are working within its framework, Prof Bibek Debroy made a very useful presentation on GATT negotiations, WTO membership procedures and detailed analysis of article XX of WTO charter. Director General of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade Mr K T Chacko highlighted the importance of regional cooperation for the local communities living on international boundaries. It’s been increasingly felt that the private sector has an important role in regional cooperation. This issue was clearly illustrated by the Head of India Brand Equity Fund Mr Jayanta Bhuyan and by Mr Dilip Chenoy, Managing Director, Society of Indian Auto Manufacturers. |
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Labour migration issues are very important in the region, particularly in Afghanistan. Prof Mahendra P Lama of JNU highlighted that remittances from abroad are very crucial to the balance of payments and foreign exchange management in the region. In South Asia, contribution of remittances is almost double than the total development assistance and FDI. He further highlighted that real integration of the region with the global economy will be possible only with free flow of people within the region and with the rest of the world. Issues concerning discriminatory portrayals, living conditions and political rights of migrants were also discussed. Ms Nisha Taneja of ICRIER made a detailed presentation on trade facilitation issues, both in the narrow and in the broader context. The key issues highlighted were modalities, magnitude and institutional mechanisms. A special focus of the presentation was on border trade and transit. Issues related to regional public goods with the examples of infrastructure, education and health were touched by Mr TCA S Raghavan. A special session was organised to expose Afghan government officials to the modalities of multilateral financial institutions. Dr Jaimini Bhagwati, Additional Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs focussed on issues which need to be scrutinised by government officials before finalising any loan with multilateral financial agencies. |
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The Chief Statistician of India Dr Pronob Sen exposed participants to data sources and requirements in the four major areas of regional cooperation viz. trade, investment and finance, technology and socio-economic areas. He also explained the kind of homework which needs to be done by any country before signing any bilateral or multilateral trade deal. Operational aspects of data collection and presentation were presented. Various methods of collection and presentation of data as well as issues concerning data sharing were also discussed. The training programme concluded with a summary by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Director and Chief Executive of ICRIER. He focussed on the importance of Afghanistan in linking various regions and making regional cooperation and integration in Asia a reality. He analysed how CAREC and SAARC can make a significant contribution to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s former Foreign Minister Dr Abdullah Abdullah addressed the valedictory session. He thanked ADB and ICRIER for their contribution in building the capacity of the Ministry. He said that regional cooperation is one of the main priorities of Afghanistan’s foreign policy. He said that Afghanistan can realise its true potential through the opportunities created by regional cooperation. Dr Abdullah and Dr Raheen, Afghanistan’s Ambassador in India, distributed certificates to the participants and hoped that these officials will utilise the training in their day to day work. |
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Course participants with the former Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Dr Abdullah Abdullah. Also in the picture are Mr TCA S Raghavan, Dr Gulshan Sachdeva, Dr Sayeed M Raheen and Dr Rajiv Kumar. |
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Programme participants with the Indian Foreign Secretary Mr Shivshankar Menon |
Dr Gulshan Sachdeva 
