After arriving on a two-day visit, primarily to attend a multilateral meet on Afghanistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said relationship between the two countries should be better and that she will hold talks with Pakistani leaders to find ways to improve bilateral ties.
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“Let us not disappoint them”, she said in her statement at the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia Istanbul Process in Islamabad.
She asserted that India was prepared to move ahead their cooperation at a pace which Pakistan is comfortable with, while resolving to aid Afghanistan “through more effective transit arrangements”.
Sushma Swaraj said that elimination of terrorism from Afghanistan was a collective responsibility.
Sharif also said that Pakistan will always stand by Afghanistan, and the worldwide community respects the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
The reproduction of the story/photograph in any form will be liable for legal action. “India is ready to work with Afghanistan to strengthen its defensive capability”, Swaraj further said in her address. Noting that connectivity was key for economic development, Swaraj said India is willing to receive Afghan trucks at Attari and create necessary facilities for Afghan products there.
“The senior officials” meeting was part of the “Istanbul Process’ aimed at enhancing cooperation for countering security threats and promoting connectivity in the region”.
Swaraj, speaking to media on the occasion, said that she has come to Pakistan with message of peace and love from India.
Swaraj will hold talks with her Pakistani counterpart Sartaz Aziz and call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the conference tomorrow.
The “Heart” of Asia can not function if arteries are clogged.
Progress on these Afghan reform commitments is crucial to enabling the donor community to extend extraordinary commitments of security and development assistance to Afghanistan at the Warsaw and Brussels Conferences, respectively. “We have also formally indicated our willingness to join the Afghanistan-Pakistan Trade and Transit Agreement”.
The president pointed out that Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) is a very important regional energy project which will soon be inaugurated in Turkmenistan. Connecting Kolkata and Kabul in later centuries, that road exists even today as the Grand Trunk Road, reminding us of our shared destiny.
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During the opening session of the conference on Tuesday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai laid emphasis on regional cooperation for defeating terrorism.
