India, Central Asia Pledge To Help Fight Terrorism In Afghanistan - Foreign Minister

SAMARKAND (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2019) India and Central Asian countries have agreed to help fight terrorism in Afghanistan together for the sake of business development in the whole of the region as terrorist activities in the conflict-prone country do not create favorable conditions for investment, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, the minister attended the first India-Central Asia Dialogue, which was held in the Uzbek city of Samarkand and brought together top diplomats from India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Afghan foreign minister participated in the summit as well, as a special guest.

"India, through this Dialogue, reiterates its support and commitment to peace, security and stability of Afghanistan .

.. I specifically pointed out that no business development, no investment can take place in a country suffering from terrorism. To promote business development in our region, we agreed to fight the scourge of terrorism together," Swaraj said at a briefing after the summit, as quoted by the ministry's official website.

Afghanistan has been living in a state of political and social turmoil since the late 1970s, with the government fighting the continuing Taliban insurgency, while other extremist groups have been expanding their activities both in the country and neighboring states.