DUSHANBE - President Hamid Karzai, urging a visa-free regime for traders to enhance business ties among regional countries, on Monday called for connecting Afghanistan with the region through railway lines and gas pipelines. Speaking at the 5th Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan in Dushanbe, Karzai said his landlocked country could overcome its economic woes if the promises made by the international community were honored.
Hosted by Tajikistan, the two-day conference is being attended by delegations from around 70 countries and international organizations.
Karzai said proposed mega infrastructure projects -- railway lines and the Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline -- would not only benefit his nation, but the region at large.
The president said one railroad from Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif and another linking Iran with Herat province were crucial to Afghanistan's prosperity.
"Our hope is to live in peace with the international community and we urge the region and the world to help us realize our legitimate aspirations," he remarked.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari stressed his country's commitment to Afghan peace, development and prosperity. He suggested trans-border cooperation, saying it would transform the region's economic landscape.
He said they believed the crusade against poverty and deprivation must be waged in tandem with the war against terrorism. "Pakistan's consistent position is that more than military might, it is a battle for hearts and minds," said the president.
Zardari also said that Pakistan believed that an economically strong and politically stable Afghanistan would be a catalyst for peace and prosperity in the region.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected the counterinsurgency campaign as a lame excuse of western powers for Afghanistan's occupation.
The twin menace of terrorism and drug trafficking could be overcome if foreign troops withdrew from Afghanistan, believed the Iranian president.
He said his country was ready to provide Afghanistan financial and technical support, but the presence of foreign troops remained the core dilemma for the war-torn neighbor.
Ahmadinejad accused NATO-led soldiers of massacring innocent Afghans, including women and children, inside their houses and were desecrating the Holy Quran.
His tirade prompted US delegates to walk out of the conference. As Ahmadinejad assailed Washington's policy, the American left the conference hall. However, it returned after the Iranian president finished his speech. (Pajhwok)