It is really important for Afghanistan in the contemporary scenario that it must strengthen the regional ties along with the international ones. Afghanistan along with its neighbors can form a cooperation that can not only support the country but the region as well. Some of the basic problems in Afghanistan are similar to those in the neighboring countries; therefore, proper collaboration can really assist them in resolving those problems. Moreover, Afghanistan has yet to make a lot of improvements and developments in the near future so as to become stable socially, politically and economically.
Therefore, different sorts of strategic cooperation with the neighbors would pave the way for it. However, the history of Afghanistan’s relations with the neighboring countries has not been very much extra-ordinary. There have been political changes, movements and wars within the country that have kept on testing the regional relations and have made them fluctuate to a great extent. Moreover, these fluctuations and experiences have a lesson to teach to the entire region that only supportive role with the neighboring countries can guarantee bliss, tranquility and progress to the region and regional players have to learn this lesson.
Afghanistan should also make sure that it has to establish and promote healthy relations with the regional countries so that it should be able to go through the current transition period and ensure unwavering future. So as to develop the country, a great acceleration in economic activities and political improvements would be required and with the assistance of the neighbors and neighbors of neighbors the task would not be very difficult to accomplish.
On the other hand, it must also be kept in mind that Afghanistan, because of its strategic importance and geographical location can be of great importance to the neighbors as well. Many strategic and economic projects are highly dependent on Afghan land and decision making people in the country can really cash all these opportunities by strengthening ties and cementing relations for different spheres of life.
One of the efforts that have been striving to have regional economic cooperation in South and Central Asia so as to assist Afghanistan is Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA). RECCA is a forum that has been managed to promote stabilization in Afghanistan and South and Central Asian regional economic integration.
So far there have been four conferences (November 2010 in Istanbul, 2009 in Islamabad, 2006 in New Delhi, 2005) in this regard and the fifth one is underway in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. A short detail of the previous conferences is given as under;
Following the fact that regional co-operation is central to economic growth, poverty reduction, and political, economic and regional security, Afghanistan hosted the First Regional Economic Co-operation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA I) in 2005. The conference, attended by eleven regional countries, was a building block for an Afghan-led regional cooperation process and emphasized that all efforts shall be made to support and accelerate the implementation of various international transmission links, and joint steps shall be taken with consensus to promote and efficiently utilize the hydropower potential of the region.
Furthermore to cooperate in the field of regional sharing the benefits of water, counter-narcotics, transport, energy transport, trade facilitation, business climate. Participants of the Conference recognized that the Kabul Conference on Regional Economic Cooperation thus builds on important steps in recent years, including inter alia the Good Neighborly Relations Declaration of 2002, the Berlin Agreements of 2003, the Dubai Declaration of 2003, and the Bishkek Conference of 2004.
The Conference noted that a strategy of development for Afghanistan which is based on cooperation with regional countries creates significant possibilities for reducing poverty and for achieving the Millennium Development Goals in the whole region.
It also recognized that the various regional organizations and programs, in particular the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program, and the Central and South Asia Transport and Trade Forum and others make valuable contribution to improve the extent and scope of regional economic cooperation.
To formalize this process, it was decided that all the regional capitals would hold the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan, one after the other. The final document of the Conference was declared Kabul declaration on Regional Economic Cooperation.
The second conference (RECCA II) was hosted by New Delhi in November 2006. Overland trade and transit issues between countries and regions were also discussed during the conference. The portfolio of projects included quick-impact social sector projects as well as long-term infrastructure projects benefiting in particular in Afghanistan and the bordering countries in general. New Delhi Declaration was final document of the Conference.
The 3rd Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan was held in Islamabad, Pakistan on 13-14 May 2009. The conference became a forum for discussion and exchange of ideas among the political leadership, economic decision-makers, experts on development and cooperation and the international development partners. Participants of the conference discussed themes on “Regional Cooperation in a Development Perspective” and technical areas as mining, energy and Infrastructure, health, labor movement and human resources development, overland trade and transit issues between countries and regions.
The Conference considered specific projects in the above fields. The Conference noted that Transport, Trade, Energy Cooperation, Agricultural Cooperation, Capacity Building and Education, Border Management, Health, Counter Narcotics and Refugee Return and Reintegration are areas with considerable scope for mutually beneficial regional cooperation. The result of discussions in the Conference was adopted as Islamabad Declaration.
Fourth Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA IV) was held in Istanbul 2010, November 2-3. RECCA participants recommended to improve the a) Infrastructure (Regional Roads, Railways, Extractive Mine Industry, Public-private partnerships and investment to enable commercially viable), b) Trade, Transit and border management (Regional Transit and Trade Agreements, Trade Facilitation, Customs and Transport Infrastructure Harmonization and Upgrade, Enhancement of Border Cooperation), c) Education and vocational training, d) Agriculture, f) Small and medium enterprises and others. Final document of the Conference became The Istanbul Declaration.
The Fifth Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA V) is being held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The agenda of the conference is to consider various proposals and projects aimed to boost regional cooperation with participation of Afghanistan. High-ranking delegations from about 80 countries of the world as well as international and regional organizations were expected to attend the Dushanbe conference; however that number has not been achieved in the conference. It is important to see what would be the outcome of the conference.
The fifth Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) has been concluded with many promises and hopeful expectations. It has always been the tradition in most of the conferences that they are concluded with high hopes and great expectations. However, the facts that follow do not have much do with what are promised in them.
The intention behind giving such a statement is not to have a pessimistic look at the mentioned conference but to criticize the attitude of the decision makers. Moreover, to give an indication what an optimistic outlook can be, it would be better to recall the statements in first part of the article that indicated clearly that regional countries can really form a cooperation that can not only support the country but the region as well and proper collaboration can really assist them in resolving their problems. In addition, the possibilities that proper pursuance of the promises made in the Conference can really help not only Afghanistan but the entire region to avail myriads of strategic benefits are very much real.
It is really important to see what have been the opinions of the most important participants in the conference and what have been the most promising promises among them. Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, pointed at some of very important factors. The most interesting of them was an urge for visa-free regime for traders to enhance business ties among the regional countries.
The other important factors that he referred to included the gas pipeline (the gas pipeline project is a mega project that will involve Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) and railway lines (two important projects include railway lines from Uzbekistan to Mazar e Sharif and form Iran to Herat province) that would connect Afghanistan with the regional countries.
Moreover, he also mentioned that if international community remains committed to their promise of supporting Afghanistan sufficiently, the country would really move towards prosperity and peace. He said, "Our hope is to live in peace with the international community and we urge the world and the region to help us realize our legitimate aspirations."
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon mentioned that Tajikistan is in the favor of an international strategy for acquiring peace and tranquility in Afghanistan. He also favored the Afghan government's efforts towards reconciliation process. However, he mentioned that for a prosperous future in Afghanistan it is necessary that international community must keep on assisting the country so that it should be able to face the growing challenges. He said, "I think that more attention should be paid to the socio-economic aspect of this problem… Afghan forces must be fully ready for the fight against terrorism, extremism and organized crime, after a gradual transfer of authority to them… For its part, Tajikistan is ready to provide extensive assistance for training Afghan border guards and law-enforcement agencies."
Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, also emphasized that regional cooperation must be enhanced so as to improve the region's economic landscape and put an end to the menace of terrorism and militancy. He remarked, "We believe that the crusade against poverty and deprivation must be waged in tandem with the war against terrorism. Pakistan's consistent position is more than military might, it is a battle for hearts and minds."
Iranian President, Mahmood Ahmadinejad, as expected, kept on criticizing US and the West for their "ill intentions". He vehemently expressed that the counterinsurgency campaign is a disguise used by foreign troops to occupy Afghanistan. He said that the main problems of the region –drug trafficking and terrorism, are directly related to the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan. Once they withdraw from the country, the menace can be easily tackled. Moreover, he also mentioned that Iran is always ready for the financial and technical support of Afghanistan but the main issue, in his view, remained the same – presence of foreign troops.
Apart from speaking their minds in the conference there were some serious agreements as well. Pakistan, Tajikistan and Iran agreed upon and signed 17 mega projects in Afghanistan regarding economic and infrastructure development. The most important of them included the railway lines and Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. These two mega projects are really of immense importance but they would require immense commitment and dedication to be completed.
Apart from that the security situation in Afghanistan has to be very much satisfactory for these projects to be completed. Economic infrastructure development is directly proportional to the level of peace and stability. The regional countries along with the economic cooperation must also make utmost strive to work for sustainable peace in the region in general and in Afghanistan in particular. Another important consideration must be to follow the promises and commitments that are made in the Conference.
The regional cooperation can really work for Afghanistan and for the region only when the involved countries must work out their differences that cause the different perceptions of the strategic challenges and ultimately result into clash of interests. The regional countries, with few exceptions, at the moment seem to be going on the divergent directions so as to achieve the regional interests. The regional countries seem to have different perceptions regarding the ongoing issues and process relevant to Afghanistan and region.
They have different opinions, as evident to a certain degree from their statements in the Conference, regarding the ongoing transition period, reconciliation process with Taliban, withdrawal of international troops and the permanent US bases in Afghanistan. On the other hand their veiled policies show further discrepancies.
The purpose of such a conclusion is not to say that the regional countries must not have their own interests. They should have and each one of them must pursue its own national interests but their regional cooperation can only be fruitful once they discover the issues that are common to the region and influence all of them alike.
For that issue they have to sit together and must negotiate upon their differences and try to find out a single course of action. Insecurity and terrorism form a common dilemma for the entire region in general and for Afghanistan in particular. A unanimous decision regarding the issue must be taken by the regional countries so as to form a real cooperation that has the capacity to assist Afghanistan and the region.