India gets invite for Afghan meet
Making amends, Turkey is pulling out all stops to ensure India's participation in the crucial conference on Afghanistan it hosts next month. External affairs minister SM Krishna will take part in the conference slated for November 2 in Istanbul.
Making amends, Turkey is pulling out all stops to ensure India's participation in the crucial conference on Afghanistan it hosts next month. External affairs minister SM Krishna will take part in the conference slated for November 2 in Istanbul.
The conference, which will be attended by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton among others, will focus on the transition, political situation in the regional cooperation and the overall security issues.
The meeting is taking place at a time when the reconciliation process in Afghanistan has been derailed after the killing of Burhanuddin Rabbani and President Karzai proclaiming that he will now onwards talk to Pakistan, not to the Taliban.
Not being invited to a similar conference hosted by Turkey last year had angered India. New Delhi had protested against the move, which seemed to have taken at the behest of Pakistan. However, this time around Turkey left no stone unturned to ensure India’s participation.
Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu persuaded SM Krishna to be there when the two leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meet last month.
Changed geopolitical scenario, strain in the Afghanistan-Pakistan and US-Pakistan ties have ensured President Hamid Karzai and his government are in greater need of India.
