Editorial: Decisions made at regional economic talks should be put into practice

The two-day Regional Economic Cooperation Conference in Kabul ended on December 5. Afghan president Hamed Karzai, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and Kim Howells, Minister of State at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, were the main speakers. The conference discussed many issues which are very important to Afghanistan, including boosting trade ties with neighbouring countries and getting them to participate in the reconstruction process. According to President Karzai, before Afghanistan becomes part of the world economy, we need to establish close relations with our neighbours. But before we achieve those goals, there are two things that really threaten Afghanistan’s economy - terrorism and drug trafficking. As long as these two phenomena exist in Afghanistan, the way will not be opened for inward investment, and neighbouring countries, including their private sectors, will take no steps to invest. Neighbouring countries need stability and security in Afghanistan, but achieving that also requires stability to be achieved in our neighbours, too. Holding such conferences in Afghanistan is a first step towards establishing cooperation on reconstruction and stability. We hope the decisions made at the conference will be put into practice.