Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan vow to cooperate on security

Leaders of Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan on Thursday pledged further cooperation on security and economic development, particularly reconciliation and peace building efforts on Afghanistan. "We have exchanged views on achieving peace and security in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have conducted friendly and transparent discussions in these issues," Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai said in a joint press conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after the two-day trilateral summit held in the Turkish capital of Ankara. "Some concrete steps will be taken in field of economy, particularly on transportation," the Turkish president stated. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that his country was determined to keep up good neighborhood relations with Afghanistan. "Once more I want to underline our sincere support to peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan," said Sharif. The 8th Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Summit was held in Ankara with the theme of "Sustainable Peace in the Heart of Asia." On the sidelines of the summit, foreign ministers, military officials and businessmen from the three countries met in separate sessions. The declaration also underlined necessity of coordination for efficient border control between Pakistan and Afghanistan.