President Hamid Karzai: Strategic agreements would not undermine relation with neighbors
UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon: Afghanistan and its neighbors have common threats
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: Afghanistan should tackle the fight against narcotics more seriously
Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Fu Ying: Afghanistan needed international support for the economic growth
KABUL - Afghanistan is hosted the second "Heart of Asia" conference in Kabul, which aims to strengthen regional cooperation in fighting terrorism and implementing commitment made at the Istanbul summit.
The conference was officially opened on Friday by President Hamid Karzai, who said that attending countries have a major role to play in bringing stability to Afghanistan.
In a reference to Pakistan and Iran, Karzai stressed that Afghan partnership agreements with foreign nations would not undermine relations with neighboring countries but would only strengthen such ties.
Karzai said that Iran had helped Afghanistan for many years, and said his country "desires this cooperative brotherly relationship to continue."
The president added that the western countries - particularly the United States - should recognize that Afghanistan had to live in peace and prosperity with other nations in the region.
Foreign Ministers from Pakistan, Iran, India, Russia, the US, as well as representatives from international organizations including the United Nations, attended the conference, which held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Compound.
UN secretary-general Ban-Ki Moon told conference delegates by video link that countries in the "Heart of Asia" region face many challenges. "Clearly Afghanistan and its neighbors have common threats, but you have made real progress on the road to security and development," said Mr Ban.
He added that particular attention should be paid to improving the situation of vulnerable people in the region.
"As I said at the NATO summit in Chicago, let us make our special effort to the women and children - including girls education and women's participation in the country's political life," he added.
Also during the conference Turkey pledged that it would continue its efforts to contribute to stability in Afghanistan.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said international forces in Afghanistan should tackle the fight against narcotics more seriously
Pakistan's foreign minister Hinna Rabbani Khar said Pakistan was optimistic that "Heart of Asia" nations would be able to make progress towards a peaceful Afghanistan and a secure region. "For Pakistan's part, I can assure you of our full commitments to these objectives," she said
Chinese Deputy foreign minister Fu Ying said Afghanistan needed international support for the economic growth - but as well as economic support, efforts had to be made to develop Afghanistan's own ability to generate growth."
British foreign minister William Hague reaffirmed his nation's commitment to Afghanistan. "My country, along with NATO and ISAF allies, has played a significant role in Afghanistan in recent years, and we will be reliable friend in the future," said Hague. He added that Britain would respect the sovereignty of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of UK forces in 2014.
US deputy secretary of state William Burns expressed his country's gratitude to Afghanistan's neighbors and near neighbors, saying their investment in Afghan security forces, which he said was "indispensible to further stability in the region." (Tolo News)