Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his counterparts from Afghanistan and Pakistan on Sunday declared their joint commitment to battling extremism and drug smuggling in the region. Ahmadinejad, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Asif Ali Zardari signed a document - the Tehran Declaration - under which they will work towards bringing security to the region.
"All three nations, by relying on their strengths, good organisation and co-operation, can solve these issues," Ahmadinejad said at the summit's closing session, referring to extremism and narcotics smuggling. "The Tehran Declaration is a serious declaration of comprehensive co-operation towards achieving the interests of all three nations."
Karzai, whose country is facing a fiery Taliban insurgency and is the world's biggest producer of opium, said the summit was "needed in this part of the world." "We are faced with several problems, but there are also opportunities for finding a solution through dialogue and talks. We have to bring about security and stability for our future generation who live in the region."
Zardari said Islamabad was committed to fighting the menace of "terrorism, extremism and narcotics which has threatened the region." "We can tackle them through a comprehensive approach," he said.
The three governments also wanted closer co-operation in agriculture, commerce, transport, health and energy, it added. Zardari on Sunday proposed that the next three-way summit be held in Pakistan. He also called for a separate "trilateral meeting on development." Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday called for a comprehensive, balanced and holistic approach to confront the challenges facing the region including terrorism and militancy as well as organised crimes of drugs and human trafficking. "We are making historic moments by agreeing to a tripartite co-operation in different fields", President told the media-persons after the signing of Tehran Declaration along with President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and President Hamid Karzai.
He termed the discussions at the trilateral summit very fruitful and said Pakistan believes good, friendly and bolstered relations with Iran and Afghanistan as essential plank of its foreign policy. "We have reached a consensus on increased trilateral co-operation in the areas of trade, energy, communication, roads, and railways", the President said added the summit will stimulate the confidence among the three nations for enhanced co-operation in diverse fields.
The President appreciated the vital role of Iran in organising the summit at such a critical time when the region is in the grip of terrorism, extremism and militancy, which pose threat to the peace and security of the region. President Ahmedinejad said by different factors the region is facing problems including the menace of terrorism, which needs to be eliminated by addressing its root causes. He said Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan share common culture, history and values, and there was need to have increased co-operation and interaction among them for the socio-economic development and betterment of their people.
The Iranian President said through the trilateral mechanism the problems faced by the region should be identified so as to find the solutions. He said during the summit there was unanimity of views on various issues and the three sides agreed to expand their co-operation in various fields. Afghan President Hamid Karzai also endorsed the views of the Pakistani and Iranian leaders and hoped the summit will help resolve the issues, particularly the challenges of security faced by the region.
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