Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said terrorism formed the core of all discussions at the Sixth Ministerial Conference of Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process that got concluded here on Sunday.

“The tone was set by Afghanistan. Thereafter, all the delegations gave their statements and made representations on the threat of terrorism that continues to be the biggest challenge in the region. Terrorism was at the very core,” Jaitley, who was the co-chair of the conference, told reporters here during a media briefing.

According to the Amritsar Declaration that was adopted at the end of all deliberations, terrorism is the biggest threat to peace, stability and cooperation in the South Asian region.

“Acknowledging the support that terrorism derives in our region, we demand an immediate end to all forms of terrorism, as well as all support to it, including financing of terrorism. We recognise that terrorism is the biggest threat to peace, stability and cooperation in our region. We encourage the international community to continue to assist the Government of Afghanistan,” the statement said.

The declaration also called for a concerted regional and international cooperation to ensure elimination of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, including dismantling of terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens in the Heart of Asia region, as well as disrupting all financial, tactical and logistical support for terrorism.

Lauding the conference as “extremely useful” Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai said “We see the problem of terrorism and violent extremism. We also see the problem of state nurturing and flirting with terrorism which obviously has not only consequences for themselves, but for the region as a whole.”

The Amritsar declaration also urged all States to take action against all terror elements in accordance with their respective counter-terrorism policies, their international obligations and the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy 2006. It also urged for an early finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism with consensus.

Trilateral transit pact The declaration stated that Afghanistan can act as a natural land bridge in promoting regional connectivity and economic integration in the Heart of Asia region.

“...we note the significant step taken by Afghanistan, Iran and India by signing their trilateral transport and transit agreement based on sea access through Chabahar. Once implemented, this corridor will provide ... access for Afghanistan and Central Asia to regional and global markets. We also welcome the progress made on the Lapis Lazuli corridor, and believe that this will increase the connectivity of Afghanistan,” it said.

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