EAM S. Jaishankar attends Heart of Asia Conference, holds talks with Tajikistan President

 EAM S. Jaishankar during the Heart of Asia Conference suggested that for durable peace in Afghanistan, there is a need for genuine double peace, that is, peace within and around Afghanistan.

The External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on March 30, 2021, met with the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and discussed bilateral ties as well as trade, investment cooperation between the two nations.

While informing about the meeting, the minister mentioned that there was discussion on trade and investment cooperation, bilateral ties, the situation in Afghanistan, and strengthening the political cooperation between India and Tajikistan. He added that India stands with Tajikistan in its fight against the Pandemic.

The Union Minister who is on a three-day visit to Tajikistan also attended the ‘Heart of Asia’ Conference on March 30 at the joint invitation of his counterparts from Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

India and Tajikistan to strengthen relations in various fields:

The External Affairs Minister has met various delegates during his three days trip to Tajikistan.

Apart from the President, the Union Minister met the Defence Minister of Tajikistan Colonel General Sherali Mirzo, and also discussed ways for further strengthening the security and defence cooperation.

The Minister informed about the meeting via a tweet and termed the discussion with Tajikistan’s Defence Minister as productive.

EAM also met the Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia- CICA, Kairat Sarybay on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia Conference.

Jaishankar informed about the meeting via Twitter and informed that he reiterated India’s commitment to a pluralistic cooperative security order in Asia. They also agreed to work together to strengthen CICA.

EAM S. Jaishankar discusses Afghan Peace Process with Afghanistan President:

The Union Minister during his visit to Tajikistan also met the President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani and discussed the Afghan Peace Process.

He shared the news of the meeting via Twitter. The talks took place before the commencement of the Heart of Asia Conference which focuses on the regional and international consensus for Afghan Peace.

Both Jaishankar and Ghani were in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to attend the 9th Heart of Asia- Istanbul Process Conference.

Significance:

The Heart of Asia Conference, hosted in Tajikistan, has been focused on strengthening an international and regional consensus for Afghan Peace.

The Agreement was signed in February 2020 between the US and the Taliban. It calls for the complete US withdrawal from Afghanistan if the Taliban upholds counterterrorism commitments like defying a safe haven to al Qaeda.

Heart of Asia Conference:

The Conference was launched in 2011 as an Initiative by Ankara and Kabul in order to help Afghanistan achieve peace. 15 countries are members of the Heart of Asia Conference and host it once every year. The meeting was not held in 2020 because of the Coronavirus Pandemic.