HoA ministerial conference gets underway in Baku

KABUL (Pajhwok): The 7th ministerial conference of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) began in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on Friday. 

President Ashraf Ghani and his Azeri counterpart are co-chairing the conference featuring representatives from 14 member states, 17 supporting countries and 14 regional and international organisations. 

The conference theme is "Security and Economic Connectivity Towards a Strengthened Heart of Asia Region". The Istanbul Process is an important regional platform for political dialogue.
Afghanistan, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the UAE are the participating states.

Special representatives of Russia and China , delegations from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as the top UN diplmat in Afghanistan are in attendance.

Special representatives of the British prime minister, State Department, Japan, Spain and Norway and delegates from the foreign ministries of Italy, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Poland, Egypt, Sweden and other countries are also participating in the event.

More than 250 delegates are taking part in the ministerial conference.

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