Regional Cooperation

After decades of instability, Afghanistan now has a unique opportunity to realize its potential as a “land bridge” between Central Asia, South Asia and the West Asian region. Peace and prosperity in this strategically important country is going to provide huge economic opportunities not only to Afghanistan but also its neighbours. This also brings major responsibilities on Afghanistan to work with its neighbours towards policies and institutional mechanisms to translate this potential into concrete regional projects.
The government of Afghanistan is committed to share the benefits of its centrality through regional cooperation with its neighbors and countries beyond the immediate neighborhood. The Afghanistan Compact and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy clearly illustrate that regional economic cooperation is one of the main priorities of the Afghanistan government. At the 14th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, President of Afghanistan H.E Mr Hamid Karzai asserted that “Afghanistan’s political and economic isolation must never be repeated. Instead, enhanced economic cooperation must be pursued for the sake of regional economic and political stability”. Similarly, Foreign Minister H.E Dr Rangin Dafdar Spanta also outlined at the SAARC Council of Ministers meeting that “Afghanistan is deeply interested in trans-border transport networks, energy corridors and freer flow of people and ideas”.
Through various declarations like the Good Neighbourly Relations Declaration of 2002, the Dubai Declaration of 2003, the Berlin Agreements of 2003, the Bishkek Conference of 2004, the Kabul Conference of 2005 and the Delhi Conference of 2006, countries of the region have accepted the centrality of Afghanistan for economic cooperation and integration between Central, South and West Asian regions.

After two successful regional economic cooperation conferences on Afghanistan in Kabul (December 2005) and in New Delhi ( November 2006), the Government of Afghanistan has accepted the proposal from the Government of Pakistan to host the next regional cooperation conference in Islamabad. The Delhi conference has already identified some broad themes for the third conference. They include mining, health, labour movement and human resources and overland trade and transit issues.

To further institutionalize regional cooperation within the government ministries, with the neighbours and with the donor community, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a Steering Committee on Regional Cooperation(SCRC). The first meeting of the SCRC took place in the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on 25 February 2007. Apart from many cabinet ministers, ambassadors and other representatives from regional countries, G8 nations as well as representatives from ADB, World Bank, UNDP and the Aga Khan Development Network participated in the meeting.

Afghanistan is committed to multilateral trade negotiations and requested accession to the World Trade Organization. Similarly, it is also engaged with many of its neighbours through bilateral and multilateral trade and economic agreements.

Afghanistan is an active member of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). It is working towards achieving organization’s objectives of promoting conditions for sustainable economic development and raising living standards in the member states through regional cooperation. At the fourteenth South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit which was held in Delhi in April 2007, Afghanistan became the eighth member of the grouping. It hopes to make a significant contribution to different technical committees as well as working groups of the SAARC. It is deeply interested in all the major areas of cooperation in which SAARC is active, namely agriculture and rural development, health and population, women and children, environment, science and technology, transport as well as human resource development. Afghanistan’s membership in the SAARC has the potential to bring new dynamism in economic relations between the South Asian and Central Asian regions.

Afghanistan also serves in the Contact Group of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). It hopes to play an important role in the organization in near future. Through its membership in Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), Central and South Asia Transport and Trade Forum (CSATTF) and UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) Afghanistan is also focusing on various projects and activities associated with enhanced regional cooperation.

Through regional cooperation, Afghanistan wishes to
a) Improve trading opportunities;
b) Integrate itself with the regional rail and road networks;
c) Be an important partner in regional energy markets;
d) Eliminate narcotics trade; and
e) Achieve Millennium Development Goals.