Heart of Asia ministerial conference begins today

The 6th Heart of Asia ministerial conference will begin at Amritsar in Punjab from today, it will discuss peace, cooperation and economic development in Afghanistan. The main conference will be inaugurated jointly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani . Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will lead the Indian delegation in place of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who is unwell.

Delegates from nearly 40 countries will participate in the conference. The theme for this year is ‘Addressing Challenges, Achieving Prosperity’. Today, the foreign secretaries will have deliberations while Ministers will attend the conference tomorrow. Eliminating terrorism in South Asia



and improving Connectivity in Afghanistan is likely to dominate the conference.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s Foreign Policy Advisor Sartaj Aziz is scheduled to attend the conference. However, there is no bilateral meeting is expected during the conference as New Delhi has already clarified that it has not officially received a request for any bilateral meeting from Islamabad. In view of the event, the holy city has been turned into a fortress with deployment of 11 companies of the paramilitary forces and over 5,000 policemen. Heart of Asia Process was launched in 2011 from Istanbul. The conference is a platform for regional cooperation by placing Afghanistan at its center.