The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process

On 30th March, 2021, India attended the ninth Ministerial Conference of Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) on Afghanistan in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Key Points

• India spelt out her commitment to the development and rebuilding of Afghanistan. The development partnership of USD 3 billion for Afghanistan, includes more than 550 Community Development Projects covering all 34 provinces, aimed at making Afghanistan a self-sustaining nation.
• India called for a “double peace” which means peace within Afghanistan and peace around Afghanistan and supports the Intra-Afghan Negotiations (IAN).

About Heart of Asia– Istanbul Process

It is a regional initiative of Afghanistan and the Republic of Turkey, which was launched on 2 November 2011 in Istanbul, with the motto “Istanbul Process on Regional Security and Cooperation for a Secure and Stable Afghanistan”.

• The process aims to promote regional security, economic and political cooperation centered on Afghanistan through dialogue and confidence building measures (CBMs).

Chairmanship

• De Facto Secretariat of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process: The Directorate General for Regional Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan is acting as the de facto Secretariat of the Process.
• Permanent Chair: Afghanistan

Member Countries

• Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, India, Tajikistan, Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan

Supporting Countries

• Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Finland, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States