It was also decided to accelerate the growth of SMEs and involvement of women in economic development, including through women entrepreneurship and simplifying customs procedures
Seventeen countries, as part of the Istanbul Process to bring peace in Afghanistan by promoting regional connectivity and economic integration, have decided to make existing transit and trade agreements more inclusive and comprehensive. This will be done by expanding these agreements to connect South Asia with Central Asia.
It was also decided to accelerate the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and involvement of women in economic development, including through women entrepreneurship and simplifying customs procedures.
“There was a consensus that economic development is an important factor in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan and the Heart of Asia Region. In this context, the participants shared views on various measures and steps to promote transit and trade and realising reliable and robust connectivity with Afghanistan as the hub,” said a statement issued by Ministry of External Affairs.
India offered to develop a web portal, with help of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), for exchanging information on regional markets, trade and investment opportunities and to facilitate networking for businesses in participating countries.
Steps like developing transit and transport through Chahbahar Port involving India, Afghanistan, and Iran, Central Asia-South Asia power project – commonly known by the acronym CASA-1000, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway project, among others, were assessed. All sides agreed on the value of connectivity and economic integration projects to bring overall growth, stability, and prosperity in Afghanistan.
The technical meeting was co-chaired by the Acting Director General, Economic Cooperation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, Hassan Soroosh, and Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Deepak Mittal, and was attended by representatives of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UAE, Australia, Egypt, Germany, the UK, the US, the EU and the UN.
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