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Terrorists will not deter India's efforts in Kabul: Pranab
By Indo Asian News Service,
Nov 19, 2006 - 11:27:32 PM
New Delhi, Nov 19 (IANS) As the curtains came down on the two-day conclave on Afghanistan here Sunday, India said that despite the designs of some terrorist groups, its commitment to the reconstruction and prosperity of Kabul remained 'firm.'
New Delhi also reiterated the importance of stability of Afghanistan for the entire region and expressed concern about resurgence of Taliban-led violence in that country.
'We have security arrangements in Afghanistan. The objective (of some terrorist attacks on Indian workers) was that India withdraws from development activities in region,' External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters at a joint press conference with his Afghan counterpart Rangin Dafdar Spanta.
'We refuse to succumb to such pressure. Our commitment to the reconstruction of Afghanistan remains firm,' he replied in response to a question on the security situation in Afghanistan. He was referring to the killings of some Indian workers last year, which was blamed on Taliban-affiliated outfits.
'We have a vision of bringing freedom, dignity and prosperity to the people of Afghanistan through the cooperative venture which unites all countries in the region in a collaborative effort,' Mukherjee said.
'Stability, peace and security of Afghanistan is central to the region. We will work together to make the region secure,' Spanta said at the end of the two-day Second Regional Economic Conference on Afghanistan.
Manmohan Singh and Karzai had jointly inaugurated the conference Saturday, which was attended by ministers from 18 countries, including Central Asian countries, Pakistan, Iran, China and members of the G-8 group of industrialized nations, and top officials of 10 multilateral international institutions.
'The resurgence of Afghanistan has a negative effect on the development of Afghanistan. We call upon all countries to jointly face the menace of terrorism,' Afghan Finance Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady said.
The two-day conference ended with a statement of vision for the reconstruction and development of the violence-torn country in regional context entitled 'New Delhi Declaration.'
The declaration 'recognised that the strategically important location and centrality of Afghanistan to the surrounding regions play an eminently vital role in providing a focal point for facilitating greater economic cooperation and integration.'
The declaration reaffirmed that 'regional economic cooperation is of central importance to the growth prospects of the region and that such cooperation offers many possibilities for the creation of win-win situation for all.'
The ministerial discussions at the conference made many recommendations that included a study on the setting up of a centre for regional economic cooperation in Kabul, greater need for public-private partnerships and effective coordination of regional initiatives and projects for the development of that country.
Other recommendations included the strengthening of Afghanistan's capacity development and enhancing connectivity through aviation links trade and transit, energy and gas linkages and financial services.
The first conference of this nature was held in Kabul last year.
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