KABUL - Afghan Ambassador to Turkey Amanullah Jayhoon has said that Turkey, a country friendly to Afghanistan, pursues a very transparent foreign policy with regard to Afghanistan, adding that Turkey's Afghan policy is very promising.
"Turkey's policy is one of friendship and brotherhood. Turkish-Afghan relations have withstood the test of time and Afghanistan does not have any doubts over Turkey's friendship," the Afghan envoy stated, adding that he was very pleased with Turkey's policy towards Afghanistan.
Turkey has close ties with Afghanistan and has spearheaded efforts for peace building in the war-torn country.
In an exclusive interview with Today's Zaman, Jayhoon stated that bilateral relations between the two countries have been deep-rooted since Ottoman times, adding that with the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923, bilateral relations took on another dimension.
Paraphrasing Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the republic, Jayhoon said, "Afghans and Turks are one soul in two bodies."
Although Turkey and Afghanistan have promising political relations, Jayhoon expects the same promising relations in trade as well. "I think a lot needs to be done with regards to economic relations. Although there are many Turkish firms working in Afghanistan, there are a lot of opportunities for Turks in Afghanistan. Trade volume between the two countries is $300 million. Turkish firms are constructing roads, schools, hospitals, etc." said Jayhoon.
Construction is the leading sector for Turkish investments in the country. From August 2002 to the end of 2010, the total value of contracts held by Turkish companies in Afghanistan amounted to $2.8 billion.
"If we are talking about brotherhood, we need more investments. The investments are currently not promising. If there are more Turkish investments, this will contribute to peace and security in Afghanistan. Turkey's investment will create jobs for people. This is our expectation from Turkey," Jayhoon said.
Turkey's multidimensional program for Afghanistan concentrates on education, security, health, agriculture, human resources development and capacity building. It focuses on projects that will improve the economic and social conditions of the Afghans. Most of Turkey's projects in Afghanistan are carried out by the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA).
In addition, it is continuing to invest in Afghanistan's future by building schools countrywide. The most recent of them, a high school built by TİKA in the town of Kızılayak in Sheberghan province, was opened in 2009. The cost of constructing the school was $170,000.
Jayhoon stated that Turkish schools in Afghanistan are very successful. "There are about six or seven Turkish schools. They are doing a suburb job," said Jayhoon.
The Afghan envoy believes that within a few decades, Turkish will be the second-most spoken language in Afghanistan. "Currently, we have about 5,000 students attending Turkish schools. This is a very large number.
dditionally, Turkey is also providing scholarships to Afghan students to study in Turkey. This is a very important development in terms of education and developing cultural relations between Afghanistan and Turkey," said Jayhoon.
Turkey can play important role in training Afghan troops
Touching upon the withdrawal of NATO forces by the end of 2014, Jayhoon had an important message for the role that Turkey could play in the post-NATO era in Afghanistan. "Turkey is not in Afghanistan as a member of NATO but as its brother country. As Turkish authorities have also mentioned, Turkey will be in Afghanistan as long as Afghans want them to be," said Jayhoon. (Agencies)