ANKARA
Delivering the opening remarks of a meeting of the International Contact Group (ICG) for Afghanistan at Ankara's Hilton Hotel on Friday, Ahmet Davutoglu stated that the meeting was not crucial only for Afghanistan but all countries with special ties to Afghanistan and the international community.
"Afghanistan is the first and greatest test for the international community in the 21st century. We have no chance for failure in Afghanistan," Davutoglu noted.
"Turkey, as an old friend, always gave shoulder to shoulder with Afghanistan. We have always extended support to Afghanistan for political stability, peace and economic development," Davutoglu stressed.
"We consider Afghanistan as 'the heart of Asia'. It was poet Muhammad Iqbal who made such description and from whom I have been influenced," Davutoglu said.
"If peace can not get established in Afghanistan as the heart of Asia, then peace could not be realized in Asia. As the heart of a body, if Afghanistan is healthy and functions well as a state, then whole Asia would be a region of security and peace. We should never think that Afghanistan is far from us," Davutoglu stated.
"Our mission is to facilitate peace and security in Afghanistan. If we can not achieve peace and security in Afghanistan, we would not be able to facilitate peace, security and stability within the international system," Davutoglu noted.
-"I feel Afghanistan as my own soil"-
"Afghan-Turkish relations are some of the oldest in history. The first strategic alliance agreement of the Turkish government was signed with Afghanistan, during Turkey's War of Independence, in 1921," Davutoglu indicated.
"As we struggled for independence on our own territory, some of the best Turkish officers were sent to Afghanistan to establish the Afghan army. Since then, Turkish and Afghan institutions resemble each other. There is a close relationship between our two countries," Davutoglu noted.
"Mevlana Rumi, who lived in my home province of Konya, actually was born in Belh city of Afghanistan. Mevlana arrived in Konya with his father and later passed away in this province. You can understand what I feel when I visit cities in Afghanistan. I feel Afghanistan as my own soil. Whenever I hear the poems of Mevlana Rumi, I can smell the Afghan soil and feel the spiritual depth of Afghanistan," Davutoglu also said.
