| Text of Joint declaration of Afghanistan-Iran-Pakistan trilateral meeting |
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ISLAMABAD:- Following is the text of Joint Declaration issued following the meeting of Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran held at Foreign Office here on Saturday. The trilateral meeting was attended by Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Rangin Dadfar Spanta Foreign Minister Afghanistan and Manouchehr Mottaki Foreign Minister Iran.
Text begins:
“The Foreign Ministers of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:
Recalling the Tehran Declaration adopted at the conclusion of the first Trilateral Summit of Heads of States of the three countries held in Tehran on 24 May 2009.
Recalling further the decisions of the earlier meetings of Foreign Ministers and Senior Officials, in Kabul and Islamabad respectively in April 2009.
Emphasizing the deep historic, religious, spiritual, cultural and commercial bonds among Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.
Recognizing the continued suffering of the region and its people from insecurity, terrorism, extremism, arms trafficking and drugs smuggling.
Acknowledging the common vision and aspiration of the peoples of the three countries for durable peace and prosperity.
Affirming the deep desire of the three Governments to promote to this end, mutually beneficial stability and development.
Underscoring the salience of trilateral cooperation for achieving common objectives and stressing in this regard, the need to commence substantive work within the trilateral framework.
Reaffirming commitment to uphold the principles of the UN Charter.
Security and Stability
• Agree that regional stability and security can only be advanced through sincere and strict adherence to the principles of non-interference in the internal affairs of each other as well as respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
• Affirm that the three countries bear a shared and common responsibility for security and stability in the region.
• Commit not to allow their territories to be used for activities detrimental to each other’s interests.
• Acknowledge that terrorism poses a common challenge that could only be addressed through concerted efforts.
• Reiterate their desire to supplement national counter terrorism efforts through trilateral intelligence sharing and greater coordination and cooperation at the operational plane.
• Support Afghan national process of promoting national reconciliation and reintegration in accordance with the Constitution of Afghanistan, and stress that any initiative in this regard must be Afghan-led and Afghan-driven.
• Commit to further deepen cooperation to interdict trafficking of narcotics and precursors, arrest cross-border illegal flow of weapons and check trans-national organized crime, by among other means, strengthening national capacities to address these challenges.
Development
• Reaffirm commitment to play their due role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, and stress the importance of creating conditions within Afghanistan conducive to the safe, voluntary, gradual and dignified return and reintegration of Afghan refugees with the support of the international community.
• Agree further to enhance regional connectivity through establishment and development of energy and transport corridors and to encourage participation by respective private sectors in regional development programmes and undertaking joint ventures.
• Encourage exchange of views, sharing of best practices and project-based cooperation in the areas of energy, transport, industry, mining, agriculture, livestock and environment.
• Agree to commence preparations for establishing trilateral economic, industrial and planning commissions, as well as launch of feasibility study on Joint Investment Fund to support trilateral projects.
Regional Processes
• Support on-going regional processes aimed at developing a regional consensus for peace, security, stability and development.
• Strongly believe that their trilateral cooperation is the key to regional peace and stability and reiterate their commitment to strengthen this cooperation.
• Stress that these processes must be indigenous, and have the ownership of all immediate neighbours of Afghanistan.
• Stress that international engagements on Afghanistan must underscore the importance of Afghanistan’s ownership of its own plans and priorities.
• Stress further that any regional or international conference should acknowledge the salience of their trilateral engagement and cooperation for achieving common objectives and lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Implementation
• To oversee the implementation of the trilateral agenda, the Foreign Ministers agree to establish expeditiously a Joint Committee of National Coordinators. The Committee will be headed by Deputy Foreign Ministers of the three sides, who may co-opt experts, as needed, for promoting cooperation in specific sectors. This Committee will also determine practical measures and chalk out the timetable for the holding of specialized meetings.
• In pursuance of the Tehran Declaration, the Foreign Ministers reiterated the Summit decision to hold the Second Trilateral Summit in Islamabad at the earliest.
• Agree that prior to the Summit, trilateral meetings of the Ministers for Interior would be held in Islamabad, Ministers for Finance/ Commerce in Kabul and Security/ Intelligence Chiefs in Tehran.
• Further agree to pursue holding of Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan and its immediate neighbours following the Trilateral Summit.
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