Friday December 15, 2017
Kabul (BNA) The President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Mohammad Ashraf Ghani met with President of Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the sideline of the OIC extraordinary summit which was held in Turkey on Wednesday.
The two leaders discussed a series of issues of mutual and regional importance. Bolstering mutual cooperation and the peace process came under discussion. President Erdoğan thanked President Ghani for attending and speaking at the OIC extraordinary summit.
President Ghani appreciated the Turkish president’s invitation for attending the OIC extraordinary summit, lauding the Turkish initiative under which the Summit was successfully organized. He remarked that the summit is a good opportunity for seeking a solution to the issue of Palestine.
President Ghani said that a wise leadership is the need of the hour which will enable us resolve the issue through consensus and constructive dialogue.
President Ghani thanked the Turkish government for assisting Afghanistan particularly under the framework of ISAF and the Resolute Support Mission and commended the Turkish companies operating in Afghanistan.
The President asked President Erdoğan to recommend to the Afghan Government those companies that are registered with the Turkish Government who, after going through the stages of procurement process, will aid Afghanistan in carrying out its construction and infrastructure programs.
Appreciating the good intention of President Ghani, President Erdoğan said that Turkey stands ready to provide cooperation to Afghanistan in different realms of development and will remain with the Afghan people and Government as a partner.
He reassured the President that Turkey will augment its cooperation in education sector, showing the readiness to construct Muallana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi Women University.
Thanking the Turkish President for initiating the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process and describing it as an important platform for discussing important topics, the two sides further conversed about the mentioned process.
The Turkish President said that the upcoming HoA-IP meeting will be organized next year in Istanbul City the main themes of which will be centered on the development of Afghanistan.
The two agreed that regional connectivity is the key to enhancing cooperation, calling the signing of lapis lazuli route an important step towards regional economic development.
President Ghani proposed the formation of a joint economic committee, underscoring that the committee should hold regular meetings to take practical steps in this regard. The proposal was approved by the Turkish side.
The Turkish President welcomed the U.S. strategy for South Asia and Afghanistan and described it as a positive tool for region-wide changes.
President Ghani said that the goal of the new U.S. strategy is to pursue and sustain peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region, iterating that Afghanistan will positively utilize the prevailing opportunity.
He added that Afghanistan has always demonstrated its preparedness for the dialogues, reaffirming that Afghanistan is ready to carry on with the dialogues in two dimension: dialogue with Pakistan on a state-to-state mechanism and negotiations with Taliban through the Afghan-led process which were successfully held in the past.
Supporting the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, President Erdoğan said that Turkey stands ready to take steps in developing relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, sparing no efforts in this respect.
President Ghani returned home from attending the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Ansari
