JOINT STATEMENT ADOPTED AT THE TURKEY, AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN JOINT WORKING GROUP MEETING

(KABUL, 19 JULY 2010)

            The Joint Working Group meeting is held in Kabul on 19 July 2010 with the participation of His Excellency Ambassador Eklil A. Hakimi, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, His Excellency Ambassador Engin Soysal, Deputy Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, and His Excellency Ambassador Haroon Shaukat, Special Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

            The meeting which was organized pursuant to the decision taken at the Trilateral Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in İstanbul on 7 June 2010, constituted the first joint gathering of the high level officials of the three countries in Afghanistan.         

            The high level officials exchanged their views on the possible outcomes of the Kabul International Conference. They expressed the support of their countries to the Afghanization process and underlined the need for the trilateral process to address safety and security of the Afghan people, human capacity building, institutional development, reconstruction and development, governance and the rule of law. They congratulated the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for convening the international community and extended their full endorsement and support to the objectives of the Kabul Conference. 

            The high level officials recalled that the Istanbul Statement on Friendship and Cooperation in the “Heart of Asia” provided a vision that would underline the Kabul Conference communiqué. 

            They have also dwelled upon the decisions adopted at the Trilateral Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey in İstanbul on 7 June 2010 and exchanged views on the upcoming meeting of the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) and Minds Platform to be held in Istanbul later this year. Agreed Minutes on recently held Working Group meeting on Road Transport, Railways and Civil Aviation was also among the topics discussed. Parties welcomed the decision to convene the next meeting of the group in Islamabad.

            In the cultural domain, the high level officials discussed the possibility of holding a joint cultural exhibition. 

            The parties noted that the ongoing Trilateral Summit process has already started yielding positive and promising results. The projects that are already agreed upon (particularly joint military exercise to be held in Turkey; cooperation in the field of education; enhancing the technical capacity of Gems and Gemology Institute based in Peshawar etc.) were mentioned.

            The three high officials agreed that the Joint Working Group would meet in İstanbul later this year to follow up on the results of the Kabul Conference and prepare for the Fifth Trilateral Summit to be held early next year.  

             The high level officials of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Turkey expressed their sincere thanks to the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for hosting the meeting in Kabul.

                                                                                                                      Kabul, 19 July 2010