KABUL - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Sunday expressed concern over rising threats from terrorist and armed groups to the region including Afghanistan, saying joint cooperation was needed in dealing with the challenge.
Speaking at a meeting on counter-terrorism measures, organised by the Heart of Asia, Istanbul Process, Deputy Foreign Minister, Hekmat Khalil Karzai said the mechanism could play an important role in maintaining security in the region.
He wanted increasing terrorist and other armed groups’ activities posed a serious threat to the region. Afghanistan was the biggest victim of terrorism that could be defeated through joint cooperation, he added.
United Nations (UN) Special Envoy to Afghanistan Nicholas Haysomalso said security threats were on the rise in the region. He agreed eliminating the threat needed regional cooperation.
Besides pursuing peace talks, the Afghan government was also fighting against militant groups, Haysom said, calling for the implantation of the agreements reached at last year’s Heart of Asia Conference in Islamabad.
The fifth Heart of Asia Conference, attended by foreign ministers from member countries, was held in the Pakistani capital on December 9. The next conference is scheduled to be organised in India.
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the UAE are part of the initiative launched in 2011.
The 14 countries have been pursuing confidence-building measures since 2013 in areas of disaster management, counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, trade and investment, regional infrastructure and education. (Pajhwok)