DELEGATION OF AFGHANISTAN

Statement

as delivered by the Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Mr. Hassan Soroosh

in response to H.E. Ambassador Ivo Petrov,
Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat

/ Agenda item 2 /

OSCE – PC1101

May 26, 2016

Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

Let me join previous speakers in warmly welcoming Ambassador Ivo Petrov back to thePermanent Council.

The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat has great expertise and conducts a wide range of activities in key areas including border management, the fight against transnational threats including terrorism; trafficking in human beings, illicit narcotics and arms control as well as other important topics such as economic and environmental issues; human rights; good governance and the rule of law; elections; and media freedom.

These topics are highly relevant to our ongoing efforts towards sustainable development and stability in Afghanistan and we can certainly benefit from the excellent work of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. We welcome the joint initiatives for Afghanistan and Turkmenistan at the centre. One of such activities was a workshop on International Co-operation in Criminal Matters, aimed at increased co-operation between criminal justice systems of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan towards our joint fight against transnational organized crime. We look forward to similar joint activities for the two countries at the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat in the future.

Let me also seize this opportunity to highlight the excellent relationship between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan and the enhanced co-operation between the two countries in various areas which can be exemplified by many high level visits between Kabul and Ashgabat including at the heads of states level and the signing of many important bilateral MoUs between the two countries. Both Afghanistan and Turkmenistan have a particular role in unlocking the great potential for regional and inter-regional co-operation including between Central Asia and South Asia.

We are committed to closely working together with our partners in the region and I believe we have all demonstrated that when we work together there is no obstacle that we cannot overcome; very much in the spirit of the values and principles of the OSCE. We have embarked upon a number of important joint regional projects which will transform the lives of our people in the region for the better.

I wish to mention here the TAPI gas pipeline project, from Turkmenistan via Afghanistan and Pakistan to India, the foundation stone of which was laid in December last year. Furthermore, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan railway line, known as TAT, is currently being built and work is underway on the Lapis Lazuli Corridor as an important Eurasian gateway, which connects Afghanistan through Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to the Black Sea and through Turkey to the Mediterranean Sea and Europe.

The many dividends of these projects are evident, and Afghanistan is looking forward to greater bilateral co-operation with Turkmenistan and the rest of our neighboring and partner countries in Central Asia as well as multilateral collaboration within the OSCE including in the context of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

In the end, let me thank Ambassador Petrov, for his excellent work and continued co-operation, and I wish him all the best for his future endeavors.

Thank you