Impact of ‘Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process’ on Afghan Peace Talks

2019/07/17 | Opinion, political

Strategic Council Online: Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process Meeting is expected to help build peace and stability in Afghanistan so that the interests of the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan are also served. Pir Mohammad Mollazehi - Subcontinent Affairs Expert

“Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process” Preliminary Meeting was held in Ankara with the participation of senior officials from Turkey, Afghanistan and representatives of member states and their sponsor organizations (June 25).

The first meeting of “Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process 2011” was held with the participation of foreign ministers from 14 countries including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates.

The second meeting of the “Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process 2012” was hosted by Afghanistan, the third round (2013) was held in Kyrgyzstan, the fourth (2014) in China, the fifth (2015) in Pakistan, the sixth (2016) in India with participation of delegates from 40 countries, the seventh (2017) in Azerbaijan under the theme “security and economic connectivity to improve the situation in the Heart of Asia”.

Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Finland, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States are also countries that support this trend. Several regional and international organizations have also supported it.

As noted above, the conference began in Istanbul in 2011, and in the first place neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, such as Iran and China, which share borders with this country, and in the second place neighbouring countries that do not have a common border but have influence, such as Turkey, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia and India attended the conference.

These countries have proposed a plan to somehow help Afghanistan achieve peace by adopting a regional outlook about the country’s problem. Because the trend followed by the Americans is one that will let the Western powers take the initiative. As a result, the Istanbul Process was launched to enable Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries to pursue another trend to attain Afghan peace.

Because there is a perception that every issue in Afghanistan will somehow affect its neighbouring countries: countries that share borders with Afghanistan or countries that have some kind of interests there. Therefore countries that are covered by each of these groups attended the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process meeting to help track the peace process in Afghanistan. It should also be noted that this initiative was originally proposed by Iran, but later it was more followed by Russia.

With these points in mind, the overall agenda of this meeting is how to help Afghanistan establish peace in the country and how the Taliban will reach understanding with Afghan government forces. Another goal of the meeting is the diminution of the role of the United States and NATO in Afghanistan, as Doha talks have so far advanced to some extent, and the Taliban and Americans are said to have agreed on two main demands of the parties.

The US wanted the Taliban to negotiate with the central government and accept the peace process, and the Taliban demand complete US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the Doha talks apparently they have reached some conclusions and the ground has been prepared to make the talks somewhat intra-Afghan. However, the situation is now more favourable than the past, and for this reason, it is expected that the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process meeting will contribute to the establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan, in the interests of the countries neighbouring Afghanistan more than before.

Finally, it should be noted that such meetings are in some way aimed at countering the unilateralism of the United States of America in the world, and in this regard, in particular, the American initiative on Afghan peace is largely questioned.

It is very important for the countries of the region to play a role in the complex issue of Afghanistan, and the presence of China and Russia in this summit has further affected the trend of US unilateralism.

When other influential sources of power are involved in important global developments linked to peace and stability, these powers can also play a role, and so we will witness the strengthening of multilateralism globally. It should be borne in mind that the Europeans are also aligned with this process, and even their interests demand that the United States will not be the lone rider and advance its own policies. Meanwhile, the United States, too, has supported this process because Washington will support any move that will help build peace and stability in Afghanistan. In fact, there is a common goal between all the countries, namely establishing peace in Afghanistan, but the difference is in the question as to who holds the initiative.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

LATEST CONTENT

Zionist Regime’s Post-War Map for Gaza

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Middle East issues said: After nearly 150 days have passed since the attacks of Israeli planes on Gaza and the unprecedented genocide in this city, regional and international efforts to end the Gaza crisis have intensified.

Reasons for Inaction & Inefficiency of Intl Organizations in Providing Aid to Gaza

Strategic Council Online: An expert on regional issues said: With the start of the Gaza war, many major powers and international organizations not only did not take honest action to support the defenseless Palestinian people, but instead, with their support for the actions of the Zionist regime, they caused their crimes to increase over the past five months.

France and the Two-State Solution in Occupied Territories

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on regional issues said: The announcement of France’s agreement with the formation of two states in the Occupied Territories is a measure to raise the international image of France and reduce domestic pressure on the Macron government for inaction against the Israeli crimes in Gaza.

The Prospect of US Military Withdrawal from Iraq

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Although most currents, politicians and even ordinary people in Iraq call for withdrawal of American military forces from their country, there are sometimes differences of opinion regarding the time of this withdrawal. On the one hand, Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, the Prime Minister of Iraq, is very serious in demanding the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Still, he wants to achieve this goal through “negotiation and political deal”. On the other hand, the Iraqi Resistance groups want the Americans to leave this country as soon as possible. The American side is also talking about a military withdrawal from Iraq in the next three years.

Russia’s Multifaceted Relations with Neighbors

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An international affairs expert said: After Russia attacked Ukraine two years ago, the country’s relations with some of its European neighbors were severely disturbed in such a way that a clear future cannot be imagined for it.

Solution to Get Out of FATF Blacklist and Get Rid of Its Heavy Costs?

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Financial Action Task Force, FATF, announced on Friday, February 23, that the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran remains on the “blacklist” of this international organization. A decision that was not unexpected for the authorities of our country. According to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, one day before the release of the FATF statement, due to the current sanctions, Iran is looking for its own FATF, as it uses other tools instead of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). On this basis, it seems that while the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon were removed from the “Grey List” of FATF in the previous reviews in June 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not trying to be exempted from the blacklist. But what kind of organization is FATF, and why are some in Iran against joining it? And what is the way out of this situation?

Loading

Últimas publicaciones

Zionist Regime’s Post-War Map for Gaza

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Middle East issues said: After nearly 150 days have passed since the attacks of Israeli planes on Gaza and the unprecedented genocide in this city, regional and international efforts to end the Gaza crisis have intensified.

Reasons for Inaction & Inefficiency of Intl Organizations in Providing Aid to Gaza

Strategic Council Online: An expert on regional issues said: With the start of the Gaza war, many major powers and international organizations not only did not take honest action to support the defenseless Palestinian people, but instead, with their support for the actions of the Zionist regime, they caused their crimes to increase over the past five months.

France and the Two-State Solution in Occupied Territories

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on regional issues said: The announcement of France’s agreement with the formation of two states in the Occupied Territories is a measure to raise the international image of France and reduce domestic pressure on the Macron government for inaction against the Israeli crimes in Gaza.

The Prospect of US Military Withdrawal from Iraq

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: Although most currents, politicians and even ordinary people in Iraq call for withdrawal of American military forces from their country, there are sometimes differences of opinion regarding the time of this withdrawal. On the one hand, Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, the Prime Minister of Iraq, is very serious in demanding the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Still, he wants to achieve this goal through “negotiation and political deal”. On the other hand, the Iraqi Resistance groups want the Americans to leave this country as soon as possible. The American side is also talking about a military withdrawal from Iraq in the next three years.

Russia’s Multifaceted Relations with Neighbors

Strategic Council Online – Interview: An international affairs expert said: After Russia attacked Ukraine two years ago, the country’s relations with some of its European neighbors were severely disturbed in such a way that a clear future cannot be imagined for it.

Solution to Get Out of FATF Blacklist and Get Rid of Its Heavy Costs?

Strategic Council Online – Opinion: The Financial Action Task Force, FATF, announced on Friday, February 23, that the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran remains on the “blacklist” of this international organization. A decision that was not unexpected for the authorities of our country. According to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, one day before the release of the FATF statement, due to the current sanctions, Iran is looking for its own FATF, as it uses other tools instead of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). On this basis, it seems that while the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon were removed from the “Grey List” of FATF in the previous reviews in June 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not trying to be exempted from the blacklist. But what kind of organization is FATF, and why are some in Iran against joining it? And what is the way out of this situation?

Loading