ISTANBUL: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey while reiterating their determination to cooperate in the fight against terrorism and extremism in all its forms on Friday vowed to continue their cooperation and engagement at multiple tracks.
The agreement to this effect was reached at the fifth Trilateral Summit meeting of President Asif Ali Zardari, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and President Abdullah Gul of Turkey in Istanbul on Friday.
According to a joint statement issued after the Trilateral Summit meeting, the presidents recalled that the Trilateral Summit Process has been providing an increasingly efficient and robust platform for taking forward multi-dimensional dialogue, cooperation and partnership among the three countries.
Zardari said that Pakistan has a vital stake in the peace, stability and economic development of Afghanistan and should be seen as part of the solution of the Afghanistan issue. The president said that the sacrifices given by Pakistan in the war against terror signify its intention.
He said since coming into power of a democratic government, Pakistan and Afghanistan have grown much closer and have turned a new leaf in bilateral relations.
“Our mutual trust is untainted and our comfort level is optimal and we now share a vision of peace, development and prosperity for the region and beyond,” he added.
The president said that Turkey is a close and trusted partner of Afghanistan and lauded Turkey’s constructive role in the region. He fully endorsed the Turkish initiatives proposed at the summit and said that Pakistan values its multi-dimensional partnership with the country.
Military exercises
Officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey on Friday discussed organising joint military exercises at a meeting in Istanbul.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) summit that was being held in the Turkish capital and was attended by representatives of the ten member states.
A press statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations said that in the meeting, Pakistan was represented by Director-General Military Operations of the Pakistan Army Maj-Gen Javed Iqbal, Turkey was represented by Maj-Gen Abdullah Rasip and Afghanistan was represented by Maj-Gen Fazle Amin. The officials also discussed the possibility of organising various training courses for the militaries of the three countries, aimed at improving their skills and capabilities.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2010.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ