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The International Contact Group are holding their 20th session in New Delhi today.
The International Contact Group (ICG) on Afghanistan and Pakistan are holding its first meeting in Munich in April 2009 with only eight countries as members, including India. Since the beginning, the group is chaired by the German Special Representative. The ICG was previously known as the “Group of Special representatives on Afghanistan and Pakistan”. Special Envoy to PM Shri S.K. Lambah attends the meetings of the ICG.
2. The membership of the group has expanded from 8 countries in 2009 to 53 countries and 4 international organizations. The group has met for 19 times in last over four years.
3. The ICG during its meetings discusses all major developments with respect to Afghanistan. Security, political and economic transitions in Afghanistan; electoral reforms; reconciliation process; performance of Afghan government on governance etc. are among issues which are frequently discussed in this forum. During certain meetings, various sub-groups were created to discuss a particular issue among few select countries.
4. ICG has helped in developing a broad consensus among the international community to remain engaged in Afghanistan and assist it in its efforts for its reconstruction. It holds its meeting in close-door format. A Chairman’s statement is issued after each meeting reflecting on the issues discussed during the meeting.
Istanbul Process on Afghanistan
The Istanbul Conference for Afghanistan: Security and Cooperation in the 'Heart of Asia', was convened by Turkey at Foreign Ministers level on 2 November 2011 in Istanbul. The Istanbul Process presented a new vision of cooperation and confidence building for the region with Afghanistan at its centre by bringing together Afghanistan and its surrounding regions for the first time in the unique ‘Heart of Asia’ format. The Conference in November 2011 agreed that the Istanbul Process on Regional Security and Cooperation for a Secure and Stable Afghanistan is a non-binding process that reflects the collective will of the ‘Heart of Asia’ countries to engage in sincere, result‐oriented cooperation at all levels.
2. Former EAM attended the Istanbul Conference in November 2011. Minister of Law & Justice Shri Salman Khurshid participated in the Kabul Ministerial Conference on June 14, 2012. EAM participated in the third Ministerial meeting in Almaty on April 26, 2013. China will host the fourth Ministerial meeting in 2014. There have been nine Senior Officials Meetings (SOM) at Kabul, Ashgabat (April 2012), Kabul (June 2012), New York (September 2012), Ankara (October 2012), Baku (February 2013), Kabul (March 2013), Almaty (April 2013) and New York (September 2013). The 10th meeting is being held in New Delhi on January 17, 2014.
3. Members: In the context of the Istanbul Process, the ‘Heart of Asia’ region covers Afghanistan and all the countries from Afghanistan’s near and extended neighbourhood. There are 14 member countries which include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and UAE. Uzbekistan was a member country till recently when it decided to withdraw itself from the process.
4. Supporting Countries: From the outset the Istanbul Process has enjoyed the support of a wide number of countries from outside the region, which have committed to provide moral and material support to countries of the ‘Heart of Asia’ in pursuit of a stable and prosperous region. There are 16 supporting countries which include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Iraq, Japan, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US. Estonia has expressed interest to join as a supporting country.
5. Supporting International Organisations: 11 regional and international organisations support the Istanbul process. They are: the UN, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the European Union (EU), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Aga Khan development Network (AKDN), Asian Development Bank (ADB).
6. The Istanbul Process recognizes Afghanistan’s crucial role in promoting connectivity and cooperation across the ‘Heart of Asia’ region, and welcomes Afghanistan’s willingness and determination to use its regional and historical position to promote security and peaceful economic cooperation in the region. The Istanbul Process is consistent with Afghanistan’s vision of achieving lasting stability and prosperity, anchored in a regional environment that is stable, economically integrated and conducive to shared prosperity. The Process is also a key component of Afghanistan’s evolving relationship with its near and extended neighbours focused on making Afghanistan a positive contributor to peace, stability and better economic interactions in the ‘Heart of Asia’ region.
7. Elements of the Istanbul Process: There are three key elements as approved in the Kabul Ministerial meeting:
a) Political consultations, involving regular meetings at the foreign ministers’ level;
b) Implementation of the Confidence Building Measures (CBM) in a sustained, incremental approach. The Ministerial Meeting in Kabul on 14 June 2012 decided to implement the following CBMs: Disaster Management CBM; Counter Terrorism CBM; Counter Narcotics CBM; Chambers of Commerce CBM; Commercial Opportunities CBM; Regional Infrastructure CBM; and Education CBM. In November 2012 upon Indian suggestion two CBMs on Chambers of Commerce and Commercial Opportunities were merged to Trade, Commerce and Investment Opportunities CBM. The Almaty Ministerial Conference formally approved the implementation plans of the 6 CBMs.
c) Synergy among regional organisations, involving participation of all regional organisations on a single platform with the goal of bringing greater coherence to the various initiatives and processes.
8. Progress on the six CBMs
1. Trade, Commerce, Investment Opportunities CBM- India is the lead country for this CBM. JS(DOC) is the designated TFP and FICCI is the designated agency to implement the CBM. FICCI organized 3 meeting of TFPs in New Delhi on September 20, 2012, April 18, 2013 and August 29, 2013. FICCI has organised training of Afghan Chamber officials and B2B meetings in 2013 as part of the activities under the CBM. We organized the “Delhi Investment Summit on Afghanistan” in June 2012 and recently, the “Doing Business with Afghanistan” Conference cum Exhibition on November 18-19, 2013.
(Lead country- India; Member countries-11 (India, Russia, Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and UAE); Supporting countries- 7 (US, UK, Germany, Egypt, Australia, EU, Canada); supporting organizations- UNDP, UNESCAP, UNECE)
2. Disaster Management CBM- This is led by Pakistan and Kazakhstan. First meeting of Technical Focal Points (TFPs) was held in Islamabad on September 20-21, 2012. The second TFP meeting was held in Astana on September 4, 2013. IG, NDRF is the TFP from India for this CBM.
(Lead country- Pakistan and Kazakhstan; Member countries -8 (China, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Turkey , Kyrgyzstan); Supporting countries- 9 (US, UK, EU, Japan, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Egypt) ; supporting organizations- 6)
3. Counter Terrorism CBM- This is led by Turkey, Afghanistan and UAE. Three meetings of the TFPs were held in Ankara on September 3, 2012, in Abu Dhabi on September 18, 2012 and in Abu Dhabi on July 26, 2013. DS(AI) is the TFP for this CBM.
(Lead country- Turkey, Afghanistan and UAE; Member countries-11( India, China, Russia, Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and UAE); Supporting countries- 4 (US, UK, France, Egypt); supporting organizations- UNRCCA)
4. Counter Narcotics CBM- This is led by Russia and Azerbaijan. DDG, NCB is designated as TFP from Indian side. NCB has attended both the TFP meetings in January 2013 (Baku) and June 2013 (Kabul).
(Lead country- Russia and Azerbaijan; Member countries-12 (India, China, Russia, Iran, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and UAE; supporting countries- 7 (US, UK, France, EU, Canada, Denmark, Egypt) ; supporting organizations- UNODC)
5. Regional Infrastructure CBM- Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan are leading this CBM. Infrastructure Division, Ministry of Finance is the TFP for the CBM. They participated in the two TFP meetings in Ashgabat in January and August 2013 in Ashgabat.
(Lead country- Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan; Member countries-11( India, Russia, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan); supporting countries- 4 ( US, UK, Germany, Egypt); supporting organizations- ADB, UNECE, UNESCAP, CAREC)
6. Education CBM- This CBM is led by Iran. Ministry of HRD has nominated JS(Central Universities & Languages) as the TFP. The two meeting of the TFP were held in April and August 2013 in Tehran.
(Lead country- Iran; Member countries-11 (India, Russia, Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan; supporting countries- 4 (US, UK, Egypt, Australia); supporting organizations- UNDP, UNICEF)