India-Afghanistan explore air cargo connectivity

The Heart of Asia conference on Afghanistan concluded on Sunday with India and Afghanistan expressing their resolve to increase connectivity, including an air cargo service to boost trade. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon participating countries to make Afghanistan a ‘geography of peace’, to connect South Asia with Central Asia and Europe.

The Amritsar declaration, issued at the end of the meeting, mentioned Pakistan-based terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, along with terror groups to have caused high level of violence in Afghanistan and the region.

It was for the first time that a Heart of Asia declaration referred to these two terror groups and the Taliban, ISIL/Daish and its affiliates, the Haqqani Network, Al Qaeda, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, East Turkistan Islamic Movement and Jamaatul-Ahrar Jundullah. It also mentioned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which Islamabad alleges the Afghans and Indians to be supporting. There was also a setback to India as draft Regional Counter-Terrorism Framework Strategy, recently prepared by Afghanistan, could not be adopted and referred to an expert panel.

Heart of Asia is an international effort to help Afghanistan in its transition from the warntorn past to a better future.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said providing Afghanistan connectivity to strengthen economic activities was the focus of the meet. He said the choice of Amritsar as the venue for the conference was a deliberate one intended to highlight the immense potential for regional connectivity and the benefits that it can bring to land-locked Afghanistan, provided the countries concerned show sincerity and political determination. The Afghan delegation also visited the Integrated Check Point at Attari on the India-Pakistan border. Jaitley noted the India-Iran Chabahar port development project would help landlocked Afghanistan’s regional connectivity plans. He said Afghanistan would benefit from the zero duty available to Afghan exports to India, and benefit if Afghan trucks could carry Indian products to markets in Afghanistan, Central Asia and beyond and vice-versa. He said India would be glad to receive Afghan trucks at Attari border.

During the bilateral meeting, Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani held a bilateral meeting. The two agreed to operationalise the additional $1 billion Indian aid for, among other things, “a possible air corridor between India and Afghanistan to overcome obstacles to promotion of bilateral trade”.

The Amritsar declaration mentioned Pakistanbased terror outfits , along with terror groups, caused a high level of violence in Afghanistan and the region