Newsletter “Afghanistan Post 2014”

Newsletter “Afghanistan Post 2014”
NO. 1, DECEMBER 2014
1. EVENTS
MEETING
DATE
VENUE
Afghanistan-Pakistan
Bilateral
End of February 2015
Islamabad
International Launch India –
Afghanistan-India Bilateral
End of March/April 2015
New Delhi
Launch Iran
with Conveners
April 2015
Tehran
2. FES REGIONAL PROJECT WEBSITE/FACEBOOK
http://www.fes-asia.org/pages/reinforcing-peace-and-security.php
https://www.facebook.com/FESRegionalPeaceAsia?fref=ts
3. REPORTS OF EVENTS
Inter-Regional Convener and Facilitator
Summit on Afghanistan, November 4-7, 2014,
Istanbul
Photos of the event:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a
.1022134311146174.1073741849.6500782850
18447&type=3&uploaded=40
High-ranking members of the policy groups from
Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and
experts from Iran and Turkey met in Istanbul to discuss
the role of the International Community in Afghanistan
Post-2014. Hikmet Çetin, Politician and Former Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, briefed the delegates on
Turkey’s foreign policy in Afghanistan up to date and
during the post-2014 scenario. Ambassador Rouzbehani
from the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran
and Mr. Elahi Dahghi from IPIS explained the Iranian
perspective on regional efforts and developments 2014
and beyond. During bilateral work sessions, the
participants discussed bilateral initiatives within the
regional peace and security project to further support
and complement regional cooperation among the
Central and South Asian countries. Advocacy for the
policy recommendations of the “Joint Declaration on
Regional Peace and Stability – Afghanistan’s Region:
2014 and Beyond” will continue and be intensified as
well as the briefing of high-ranking decision makers in
the region with new and specialized policy suggestions
agreed by the experts from the region.
The three key recommendations of the Joint Declaration
are 1. Establishing a joint special commission of AfPak, 2.
Holding an India-Pakistan dialogue on Afghanistan, and
3. Advocacy that Afghanistan be accepted as a neutral
country.
India-Pakistan Dialogue, October 13-15, 2014, As part of FES’ efforts for enhancing regional
cooperation and peace in the South Asian region, the
Dubai
More details and photos of the event:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a
.875100369190915.1073741853.28201799183
2492&type=1
offices in Pakistan and India jointly organized a track-II
dialogue titled “India-Pakistan Peace Process: Scenarios
for the Future” from October 13-15, 2014 in Dubai, UAE.
Leading figures from politics, military, former diplomats,
economists, media, and civil society of the two countries
participated in the scenario-building exercise. During
this trust-building dialogue, the dignitaries from both
countries discussed the India-Pakistan relations, military
cooperation and security management, bilateral trade,
role of media, and civil society on both sides of the
border. At the end of the conference, participants
developed best case, worst case and business-as-usual
scenarios. The detailed report of the event will be
released soon.
Afghanistan Policy Group is hosted by Afghan
First Vice President, September 14, 2014,
Kabul
Photos of the event:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a
.765077796893131.1073741869.27857723220
9859&type=1
Seminar on “Afghanistan Post 2014” with
National Defence University by the Pakistan
Policy Group, June 10, 2014, Islamabad
More details: https://t.co/sPxwQlbY08
Kyrgyzstan Launch of the Joint Declaration on
Regional Peace and Stability – Afghanistan’s
Region: 2014 & Beyond by the Central Asia
Policy Group, May 29, 2014, Bishkek
Photos of the event:
https://www.facebook.com/FESRegionalPeace
Asia/posts/897126980313575
Regional Conference on “Trans-Boundary
Cooperation in the Energy Sector:
Afghanistan-Central
Asia-India-IranPakistan”, May 22, 2014, Islamabad
More details and photos of the event:
http://sdpi.org/policy_outreach/event_details
414-2014.html
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6251688-Govt-has-changed-traditional-stancefor-bolstering-trade-with-neighbours
http://tribune.com.pk/story/711872/energycrisis-regional-countries-urged-to-employintegrated-solutions/
http://www.dawn.com/news/1108052/import
-of-electricity-not-feasible-for-pakistan
H.E. Mohammad Younus Qanooni - an active member of
the FES regional project “Afghanistan post 2014” and
now the First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan - In honour of his valuable input and
support, the Afghan Policy Group (APG) visited H.E.
Qanooni on September 14 in his vice presidential palace
in the heart of Kabul. Mr. Qanooni, who is one of
Afghanistan’s most influential politicians, had graciously
invited the APG to discuss future challenges in the
regional relations to be tackled in the multilateral forum
hosted by FES.
A roundtable seminar was organized by FES and
National Defence University, Pakistan on "Perspectives
on Post 2014 Afghanistan and Regional Stability". The
roundtable seminar was attended by high military
officials of Pakistan Army, officials from Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, ambassadors, ex-servicemen, security
experts, academia and the members of the PPG.
Hosted by FES Kyrgyzstan, the members of the CAPG
launched the Joint Declaration in Bishkek on May 29.
The Declaration contains innovative, practical and farreaching recommendations for regional cooperation and
a stable and prosperous Afghanistan and was conveyed
to Mr. Turatbek Djunushaliev, Plenipotentiary
Ambassador for Special Issues and Advisor of the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic.
The dialogue on “Trans-Boundary Cooperation in Energy
Sector” was organized by the FES in cooperation with
the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and
CUTS International. Speaking on the occasion, Khurram
Dastagir Khan, the Federal Minister for Commerce, said
that the government has now realized that for trade and
investment, the third pillar is connectivity, i.e. banking,
infrastructure, cell phone, and energy. Connectivity is
paramount in regional integration, as regional
cooperation provides opportunities, the minister said.
He hoped that the balance between demand and supply
of energy would be achieved in 2-3 years. He said a
number of energy projects like KASA 1000 are in the
pipeline, but these are subject to peace in FATA and
Afghanistan.
Central Asian Launch of the Joint Declaration
on Regional Peace and Stability –
Afghanistan’s Region: 2014 & Beyond by the
Central Asia Policy Group, May 14-15, 2014,
Astana
Photos of the event:
http://www.fes-asia.org/pages/reinforcingpeace-and-security/events-and-activities.php
Balochistan – Provincial Launch of the Joint
Declaration on Regional Peace and Stability –
Afghanistan’s Region: 2014 & Beyond by the
Pakistan Policy Group, May 11, 2014, Quetta
More details: http://tinyurl.com/kcfku8y
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Provincial Launch of
the Joint Declaration on Regional Peace and
Stability – Afghanistan’s Region: 2014 &
Beyond by the Pakistan Policy Group, April 3,
2014, Peshawar
More details: http://tinyurl.com/q9h2e24
Central Asia is the neighbouring region for Afghanistan.
Thus, it might play crucial role in fostering social and
economic development of Afghanistan. The Central
Asian Launch of the Joint Declaration was held in
Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 14-15, 2014. Members from
the Kazakh Government, academics, think tanks’
representatives and diplomats from Europe, the USA
and Central Asia, and representatives of International
Organizations attended official ceremony. The launch
received vast coverage in mass media. The Joint
Declaration was presented to Parliament Member Dr.
Kamal Burkhanov, Member of the Committee on sociocultural development. As the official representative of
the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dr. Burkhanov made the
statement on the bilateral relationships between the
Republic of Kazakhstan and the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan. He stressed significance of these
relationships for Central Asia and Afghanistan’s region.
The Central Asian Launch of the Joint Declaration
emphasized the role of Central Asia, and particularly
Kazakhstan, in supporting Afghanistan on its path to
peace and stability.
FES Pakistan organized the Balochistan “Provincial
Launch of Joint Declaration on Regional Peace and
Stability: Afghanistan's Region - 2014 & Beyond" in
Quetta on May 11, 2014. Nawab Muhammad Khan
Shahwani, Senior Minister for Services and General
Administration, was the chief guest of the event who
received the Joint Declaration on behalf of Chief
Minister Balochistan along with Mr. Jan Buledi,
Spokesman of Chief Minister and Provincial Ministers
including Shama Ishaque, Rehmat Saleh Baloch, Liaquat
Agha, and Nasarullah Zairie.
The Joint Declaration was launched in Peshawar by the
Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). It heralded
a much anticipated event for cabinet members of KP,
members of the provincial assembly, secretaries of KP
Government, representatives of the armed and police
forces, members of PPG, FES representatives, members
of civil society organizations, representatives of various
political parties, business community and notables as
well as analysts and journalists for their attendance in
large numbers.
4. UPDATE ON REGIONAL PROJECT IN GENERAL
We would like to welcome Alok Bansal as the Facilitator of the IPG. Mr. Bansal was the
Executive Director of National Maritime Foundation, a New Delhi based think tank looking at
maritime affairs and security studies. He also was a Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence
Studies and Analyses (IDSA) for five years. His research interests include South Asia, Indian
Ocean Region, Indian Diaspora and Maritime Issues. He has a naval background and is a
graduate of National Defence Academy Khadakwasla and Defence Services Staff College,
Wellington, New Zealand.
5. PAPER/ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS:
Article “Envisioning a new Afghanistan”, by Article on the Inter-Regional Convener and Facilitator
Maj. Gen. Ashok K. Mehta, in: The Hindu, Summit on Afghanistan, November 4-7, 2014, Istanbul
by Ashok K. Mehta, IPG Convener
November 2014
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/envis
ioning-a-new-afghanistan/article6637007.ece
Article “Pulling the trigger is not the only Article on the India-Pakistan Dialogue, Dubai by Ashok
option”, by Maj. Gen. Ashok K. Mehta, in: K. Mehta, IPG Convener
Daily Pioneer, October 2014
http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/edit
/pulling-the-trigger-is-not-the-onlyoption.html
FES India Policy Group Paper "Afghanistan
Post 2014: Likely Future Outcomes", by the
India Policy Group, 2014
http://library.fes.de/pdffiles/bueros/indien/10849.pdf
The IPG takes stock of the development in Afghanistan
after the first round of the presidential elections. More
precisely, this paper looks at the likely outcomes in
Afghanistan after the withdrawal of ISAF forces from
Afghanistan in 2014. Future outcomes in the fields of
security and economic cooperation are visualized by IPG
members.
Article
“Changing
Discourse
through The publication is an outcome of the two years
Integration”, by Gulshan Sachdeva, in: consultation process “Afghanistan Reconnected”.
“Afghanistan Reconnected: Regional Economic Gulshan Sachdeva is a member of the IPG.
Security Beyond 2014”, East West Institute
http://www.fesasia.org/media/Peace%20and%20Security/AF
G_Reconnected_EWI_2014.pdf
Issue Brief “Total Recount in Afghanistan: The latest Issue Brief on Afghan Presidential Run-Off by
Vishal Chandra, IPG Member
What Next?”, by Vishal Chandra, July 2014
http://www.idsa.in/issuebrief/TotalRecountin
Afghanistan_vchandra_260714.html
Article “Pakistan, Afghanistan urged to bury Annotations by Rahimullah Yusufzai, PPG Member
the hatchet”, 2014, in: Dawn.com
http://epaper.dawn.com/DetailNews.php?Stor
yText=28_05_2014_181_008
Interview “Election Turmoil, Loss of Interest Interview with Adrienne Woltersdorf, FES Afghanistan,
by International Community Threaten Afghan on the Afghan Presidential Elections 2014
Stability,
Says
Afghan
Observer”,
with Adrienne Woltersdorf, July 2014
http://www.astanatimes.com/2014/07/electio
n-turmoil-loss-interest-internationalcommunity-threaten-afghan-stability-saysafghan-observer/
Analysis "The Heart of Asia Process at a
Juncture: An Analysis of Impediments To
Further Progress" by Richard Ghiasy and
Maihan Saeedi, June 2014
http://www.aiss.af/images/pdf/final.pdf
FES India Paper “Daunting Challenges and
High Opportunities: India After the Elections
2014”, by Dr. W.P.S. Sidhu, Balaji Pandey and
K. Gayithri, July 2014
http://library.fes.de/pdffiles/bueros/indien/10850-20140905.pdf
Interview
“Peace
talks
cancelation
'overshadows' Modi-Sharif meeting”, with
Sarah Hees, August 2014
http://www.dw.de/peace-talks-cancelationovershadows-modi-sharif-meeting/a17863709
With the contribution of: Khalid Aziz (PPG Convener),
Vishal Chandra (IPG Member), Emil Dzhuraev (CAPG
Member), Hu Shisheng (Expert), Gurmeet Kanwal (IPG
Member), Sanat Kushkumbayev (CAPG Convener),
Gulshan Sachdeva (IPG Member), Mahmoud Saikal (APG
Convener), Alexey Yusupov (FES Kazakhstan), Wang
Shida (Expert) and Adrienne Woltersdorf (FES
Afghanistan)
The FES India Paper looks at the major challenges that
emerged during the previous United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) government’s term and discusses the
priorities that the new National Democratic Alliance
(NDA) government should focus on to get India back on
track – either by implementing necessary reforms or by
continuing some of the successful measures already in
place. In the three articles, three eminent experts (Dr.
W P S Sidhu, Balaji Pandey and K. Gayithri) focus on
their perceived top priorities for India today: foreign
policy, gender politics and economic policy.
In an apparent blow to bilateral ties, India canceled
peace talks with Pakistan after Islamabad met with
Kashmiri separatists. Sarah Hees, FES India, tells DW the
period of euphoria following PM Modi’s inauguration is
over.
With contributions by Philipp Kauppert, FES Pakistan
Article “India at 68: Beginning of a New Alok Bansal is the facilitator of the IPG.
Dawn”, by Alok Bansal, August 2014
http://www.indiafoundation.in/2014/08/16/in
dia-at-68-beginning-of-a-new-dawn/
For further articles please see
https://www.facebook.com/FESRegionalPeaceAsia?fref=ts
http://www.fes-asia.org/pages/reinforcing-peace-and-security/related-news-and-articles.php.