India, Pakistan officials attend meet on Afghan

New Delhi: At a time when terror attacks by Pakistan-based outfits continue in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan are among the countries that participated in a meeting in New Delhi on “Confidence Building Measure on Trade, Commerce & Investment Opportunities” in Afghanistan  “under the Heart of Asia–Istanbul Process”. The meeting was also attended by some regional groupings apart from the UN. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said, “The eighth meeting of the Regional Technical Group of Confidence Building Measure on Trade, Commerce & Investment Opportunities under the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process was hosted by India, as the Lead Country, on Monday in New Delhi”. It was “attended by representatives of 17 participating countries and supporting international organisations, including Azerbaijan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UAE, Australia, Egypt, Germany, the UK, the US, the EU and the UN,” the MEA said. 

The “recent establishment of the air freight corridor between India and Afghanistan”, a bilateral initiave taken by India was welcomed at the meeting, New Delhi said. “The meeting was co-chaired by the acting director general, economic cooperation department, ministry of foreign affairs of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Mr Hassan Soroosh and joint secretary, ministry of external affairs, Dr Deepak Mittal. The participants shared the view that Afghanistan acted as a natural bridge in promoting regional connectivity and economic integration. There was consensus,” the MEA said.