Foreign ministers and high-level representatives of participating and supporting countries will attend the eighth ministerial conference of the "Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process" in Turkey on Monday.

The conference will kick off with statements delivered by President Ashraf Ghani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The event will be attended by the foreign ministers and high-ranking representatives of 15 participating countries, 16 sixteen supporting countries and 12 supporting regional and international organizations of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process, according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The theme of the conference is Peace, Partnership and Prosperity, the statement said.

The conference will adopt and issue a declaration with renewed commitments to the visions of the process, the statement added.

The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process was launched in 2011 and its "core objective" is to promote "durable peace and stability in Afghanistan."

President Ashraf Ghani left Kabul for Turkey on Sunday to attend the conference.

The officials of the two countries held a back-door meeting in Turkey on Sunday which was led by Munir Nab, the deputy foreign minister for economic cooperation and his Turkish counterpart Sedat Onal.

"It is an important process which is led by Afghanistan and can build coordination and cooperation within the region," Nab said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan�s Ambassador to Kabul, Zahid Nasrullah, who has attended the event, stressed Islamabad�s support for the peace process in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani ambassador said the "message will be that it is important for all regional international countries not to politically compete in Afghanistan" but to "cooperate in Afghanistan--with Afghanistan as the center and heart of Asia--and work together for peace and prosperity of this region."

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/12007

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