DUSHANBE: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday stressed Pakistan’s commitment to Afghan peace, development and prosperity, calling for trans-border cooperation, which he said would not only transform the region’s economic landscape, but would also be an effective bulwark against extremism and militancy.

“We believe that the crusade against poverty and deprivation must be waged in tandem with the war against terrorism. Pakistan’s consistent position is that more than military might, it is a battle for hearts and minds,” said the president.

The president was addressing the inaugural session of the two-day fifth Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA-V) being hosted by Tajikistan and attended by delegations from around 70 countries and international organizations.

Zardari also said that Pakistan believed that an economically strong and politically stable Afghanistan would be a catalyst for peace and prosperity in the region, adding, on the other hand, regional cooperation that optimizes Afghanistan’s strategic location would be a vital ingredient for the country’s development.

The President said, “When I support development for Afghanistan, I am in essence supporting development for Pakistan.”

“My presence specially demonstrates Pakistan’s commitment to Afghan peace, development and prosperity and Pakistan’s strong belief that Afghanistan and Pakistan’s destinies are interlinked inextricably,” he stressed.

Moreover, Zardari also claimed the present democratically elected government had brought about a fundamental transformation in relations with Afghanistan.

“The two countries are now involved in multi-track engagement.  Through intensive interaction we are developing deeper trust and greater understanding,” added Zardari.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon also addressed the opening session of the conference, which was a follow-up of previous four conferences on Afghanistan held in Kabul (2005), New Delhi (2006), Islamabad (2009) and Istanbul (2010) respectively.

“Our revised transit trade agreement with Afghanistan is functional since last year and we would like to extend it to Central Asian countries,” the president added.

In the context of energy cooperation, President Zardari reiterated that regional projects such as Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) and Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline projects as well as Central Asia South Asia (CASA-1000) electricity transmission line were crucially important and required regional and international support.

“We, who are part of this region, know best our challenges and opportunities. We firmly believe that regional issues need to be resolved through regional solutions,” he remarked, adding, “Therefore, we look forward to intensified cooperation with our friends in the region.”

The Tajik president called for the need to ease visa processing for traders to boost economic activity in the region.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai instead urged for a visa-free regime for traders to enhance business ties among the regional countries.