India, Central Asian nations for peace in Afghanistan

India and the five Central Asia nations have backed an inclusive peace process in Afghanistan that is Afghan-owned and Afghan-led. The understanding was reached at the first ever India-Central Asia Dialogue in Uzbekistan capital Samarkand yesterday.

The Dialogue was chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Uzbek counterpart Abdulaziz Kamilov. It was attended by the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan.

After the meeting, Ms Swaraj reiterated India’s commitment to the economic reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan. She pointed out that no business development, no investment can take place in a country suffering from terrorism. The External Affairs Minister said, to promote business development in the region, India agreed to fight the scourge of terrorism together. She offered to extend this partnership to Central Asia as well.

A joint statement issued at the end of the Dialogue said, India and the Central Asian countries, along with Afghanistan, condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.