ANKARA: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey on Wednesday vowed to increase coordination among their political, military and intelligence tiers to jointly fight militancy and terrorism and achieve greater economic cooperation to bring peace and stability to the region.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who gathered here in the Turkish capital for a day-long summit, reiterated their resolve to follow up on the decisions taken during the second Istanbul summit.

The three presidents decided to expand and strengthen the trilateral cooperation among Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey, and stressed the need for interaction among their relevant political institutions.

Turkey accepted a request of Pakistan and Afghanistan to host a regional summit of neighboring countries of Afghanistan for a broader initiative to help the country recover from years of strife, war and infighting.

The three presidents, who were also accompanied by the chiefs of army and intelligence officials of their countries, focused on trilateral, regional and international issues of common interest, particularly from a security and stability perspective in the context of the fight against terrorism, a joint statement issued at the conclusion said.

The trilateral summit that came only four months after the second summit in Istanbul last year, focused on security and intelligence, with the three heads of states stressing closer cooperation to deal with the extremists more effectively.

Later addressing a press conference along with President Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the focus of the summit was peace, security and prosperity in the region.

“Turkish [people] have always sided with their brethren in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They have a special place in our hearts,” he said.

Gul said it was due to the same reason Ankara peace process was launched in 2007.

He said, “we know problems of our countries in a better manner and any solution from outside would not be as effective we would propose.”

According to the understanding developed at the third summit, the three countries will continue to pursue a structured and comprehensive dialogue at different levels; including trilateral military cooperation and training; security cooperation in counter terrorism and counter narcotics; energy projects; transport corridors; establishment of organized industrial zones in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and undertake socio-economic projects on education, health and vocational training.

The day-long summit attained greater significance as it will help Turkey, a key member of the military alliance of the 26 member NATO, convey the perceptions and requirements of Pakistan and Afghanistan at its forthcoming summit in France.

Citing the reasons for holding the summit side by side with NATO meeting, the Turkish President said the Untied States was taking keen interest in the region.

He said Turkey would play its role in helping the United States understand the situation in the region.

“It is for the first time that the military and intelligence chiefs of Afghanistan and Pakistan attended the trilateral summit, which is a reflection of deeper commitment to work together,” Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told reporters after meeting his Afghan and Turkish counterparts on the sidelines.

The joint statement reiterated the resolve to continue trilateral contacts at all levels and stated that the summit covered bilateral, regional and international issues of common interest particularly from a security and stability perspective.

The meeting noted the process initiated at the first summit in Ankara and subsequent meetings of the Joint Working Groups and agreed to continue it forward by including the military and intelligence chiefs of the three countries along with the political leadership in a reflection of complete unanimity at all tiers.

The three countries also agreed that their foreign ministers will meet once a year along with their heads of military and intelligence counterparts to broaden the area cooperation and effectively address the issues confronting the two neighbors.

Turkey is of the view that both Pakistan and Afghanistan need to resolve all their issues, counter extremism, terrorism and militancy and work for the betterment of the people for greater regional peace, stability and solidarity of the two countries.

The one-day summit is the third that Turkey has hosted in the past three years, in what has become known as the Ankara process.

The leaders reviewed the agreements finalized at the December summit in Istanbul and focused on ways to seek their early implementation. Under the decisions taken at Istanbul Pakistan and Turkey can initiate joint projects on the Pakistan side, besides having similar joint ventures with Afghanistan on the other side of the border.

The trilateral summit is expected to bring Pakistan and Afghanistan closer. Their ties witnessed a thaw, with the swearing in of President Asif Ali Zardari as country’s president in September this year. As a special gesture of goodwill, President Hamid Karzai was the guest of honour at President Zardari’s swearing in.

Since assuming his office President Zardari has had several meetings with his Afghan counterpart with both the sides striving for improved relations.

Pak, Afghan, Turkey vow trilateral support
Updated : Wednesday April 1 , 2009 9:23:31 PM
In the morning, the Presidents of Pakistan, Turkey and Afghanistan informally met to discuss greater cooperation on security and intelligence sharing, ahead of the formal trilateral meeting later in the day.

President Zardari also had a meeting with President Abdullah Gul, which was followed by meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish leaders also held separate meetings with the Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

President Abdullah Gul also hosted a luncheon in honour of the Presidents, foreign ministers, their military and intelligence chiefs at the President House.

Turkey had brought the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan together at tripartite summits held in 2007 and 2008, where the talks aimed at reducing tensions over militant attacks along the Pak-Afghan border and to build trust between the two neighbors.