Ministers gather to focus on Afghanistan's security

BAKU, Azerbaijan

Afghanistan's security will lead to greater stability in the region, President Ilham Aliyev said Friday at the opening of a ministerial meeting focused on the conflict-torn nation.

“The security of Afghanistan will also contribute to security of the region,” Aliyev told the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process on Afghanistan conference in capital Baku.

“We need to respond collectively to security threats that Afghanistan faces. Azerbaijan is ready to share its own experiences with Afghanistan.”

The process was established in 2011 to discuss regional issues, particularly security, political, and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbors.

More than 20 other countries, including Turkey, act as “supporting nations”.

Aliyev said Afghanistan was at the heart of regional trade and transport links. “We will continue to support Afghanistan,” he said.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani thanked Aliyev for his support and noted that the process had been launched under the initiative of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was then the prime minister.

“I want to thank Erdogan and Turkey,” he said. “We highly appreciate Turkey's support to Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan remains plagued by violent insurrection more than 16 years after the U.S.-led invasion. According to the UN, 22,941 civilians were killed between January 2009 and June 2016 and 40,993 injured.

Reporting by Ruslan Rehimov:Writing by Diyar Guldogan