At least seven agreements will be signed on the sidelines of the seventh Heart of Asia Conference in Azerbaijan, President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman Shahussain Murtazawi said at a press conference on Thursday.
“President Ghani will sign seven agreements with the President of Republic of Azerbaijan on the sideline of the conference,” he said.
Murtazawi added that the 7th Heart of Asia Conference is an important regional platform for Afghanistan to continue dialogue and strengthen regional cooperation aimed at promoting stability, peace and prosperity in the Heart of Asia region.
“These projects will facilitate Afghanistan's access to global markets and provide connectivity in the region, capable of handling cargo and containers in a much shorter, faster, efficient and cost-effective way,” he said.
At the same event, the Finance Ministry spokesman Ajmal Abdulrahimzai said the summit is supported by wide range of countries and international and regional organizations.
“With a view to integrating Afghanistan into the regional economy and reviving trade with its neighbors and beyond through increased regional connectivity, Azerbaijan is engaged in active cooperation with Afghanistan,” he added.
According to a statement by Government’s Media Information Center, the agreements will be signed in following sectors:
• Agreement to promote and support mutual investment
• Agreement on mutual air aviation services
• Agreement on security and law enforcement
• Agreement on infrastructure and transit cooperation
• Agreement on economic and trade cooperation
• Agreement on mutual cooperation on customs
• Agreement on higher education cooperation
Overview of the Heart of Asia Conference
The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA) was founded on November 2nd, 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Heart of Asia provides a platform for sincere and results-oriented regional cooperation by placing Afghanistan at its center, in recognition of the fact that a secure and stable Afghanistan is vital to the prosperity of the Heart of Asia region.
This platform was established to address the shared challenges and interests of Afghanistan and its neighbors and regional partners. The Heart of Asia is comprised of 14 participating countries, 17 supporting countries, and 12 supporting regional and international organizations.
HoA IP 6th Ministerial Conference was held in Amritsar, India on 4 December 2016 in its final Amritsar Declaration welcomed the willingness of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host the next Ministerial Conference of the HoA IP as the co-chair along with Afghanistan in 2017.