The Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process was established to provide a platform to discuss regional issues, particularly encouraging security, political, and economic cooperation among Afghanistan and its neighbors. This region-led dialogue was launched in November 2011 to expand practical coordination between Afghanistan and its neighbors and regional partners in facing common threats, including counterterrorism, counternarcotics, poverty, and extremism. The process has 3 pillars, namely, Political Consultation, Confidence Building Measures, and cooperation with regional organizations. India is the lead country for trade, commerce and investment CBM. The United States and over 20 other nations and organizations serve as "supporting nations" to the process. On 26 April 2013, Almaty, Kazakhstan, hosted the third Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process which gathered leaders from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan,and the United Arab Emirates along with Western countries and international organizations, to discuss mechanisms to support regional cooperation. The April meeting focused on the creation of "Silk Routes Partnership for Migration" to promote further dialogue and cooperation on the issue of migration. The meeting also produced a declaration in support of Afghanistan’s development and the withdrawal of international forces. Kazakhstan’s diplomats supported regional efforts in the areas of counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics trafficking, trade promotion, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, the CASA-1000 electricity project, and the expansion of the transit corridors under the Asian Development Bank’s Central Asia Regional Economic Corridor Program. Kazakhstan has helped to fund the Afghan National Security Forces and financed a fifty-million-dollar program to educate Afghan students in Kazakhstan.
Chairmanship
Membership
Four Tier Pillars of Political Consultations
Ministerial Conference :Once a year
Senior Officials Meetings : Three times a year
Ambassadorial Meetings : Discretion of Permanent Chair
Regional Technical Group Meetings : Two a year within CBM
Ministerial Conferences
4th Ministerial Conference
The 4th Heart of Asia - Istanbul Ministerial Process was held in Beijing on 31 October 2014. The event co-chairs were Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Afghan Foreign MinisterZarar Ahmad Osmani. For the first time, China was the host of the Istanbul Ministerial Process. The October 2014 meeting aimed at promoting peace and co-operation between Afghanistan and its neighbors.
Terrorism, particularly, state-sponsored terrorism was identified as a key challenge and members agreed upon a concerted effort to dismantle all kinds of terrorism. The regional meet unanimously named Terrorist groups in Pakistan and asked for action. The Express Tribune, a Pakistani English daily quoted Afghan president's statement "Taliban insurgency would not survive a month if it lost its sanctuary in neighboring Pakistan". The next day, Indian English daily Hindustan Times wrote an editorial saying "Ghani’s criticism of Pakistan affirms India’s portrayal of Islamabad".
Members reiterated their belief in principles of sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, sovereign equality of nations as enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
India asserted financial aid to the tune of $1 billion to Afghanistan to improve infrastructure and fuel the socio-economic agendas of the later.
India and Afghanistan also went for a bilateral meeting and a roadmap for air corridor was agreed upon, which is likely boost trade between the two countries. Afghanistan depends on the Pakistani port of Karachi for its foreign trade. It is allowed to send a limited amount of goods overland through Pakistan into India, but imports from India are not allowed along this route.
7th Ministerial Conference
The 7th Ministerial Conference will be held in Azerbaijan in the year 2017. Azerbaijan will be co-chairing the process.
Senior Officials Meet
14th Senior Official Meeting
The 14th Senior Official's Meeting Heart of Asia - was held in New Delhi on 26 April 2016.
