The 7th round of Herat Security Dialogue (Herat Security Dialogue VII), hosted by the Afghanistan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) was held in Herat on October 26 and 27, 2018. Researchers, professors, politicians, members of civil society and diplomats from 20 state and international organization participated in the conference. The main theme of this round of Herat Security Dialogue, “Crisis of Afghanistan: Causes & Solutions”, was discussed in seven panels.

The Dialogue began with welcoming speech of Mohammad Asif Rahimi, Governor of Herat. Next to him was, Dr. Rangin Dadfar Sepanta, Chairman of AISS Advisory Board who expressed his welcome remarks and mentioned that dialogue is a much needed approach in Afghanistan as well as the region for overcoming the problems.

The keynote speaker of the conference was Mr. Ismatulla Irgashev, Special Representative of President of Uzbekistan. He noted that connecting Uzbekistan to Afghanistan and Iran is the benefit of whole Central Asia. He said that the conference can also give us some idea on how to move forward in order to bring peace to Afghanistan. He stated that the two-day conference can bring about a message of peace to the country.

During the first day of the conference, speakers explained their perspectives in four panels. The first panel deliberated on the nexus of internal and external drivers of conflict in Afghanistan. The three speakers discussed geopolitics, corruption and the historical driver of conflict.
The second panel was titled “Political System: Presidential VS Semi-presidential VS Parliamentary” in which, the panelists discussed the challenges, spoilers, and prospects of the political system reforms; electoral & constitutional reforms.

The topic of the third panel was “Afghanistan’s Economy: From Rentier State to Developing Economy”. 
Afghanistan`s Waters; Aid Efficiency; Donor Priorities; Local Ownership, and challenges and prospects for Chahbahar port was discussed. 
Ending the first day of the conference, panel four was held with the topic of “Afghanistan & the Grand Bargain of South Asia”. In this panel, speakers focused on critical questions such as how to move beyond the enmity with Pakistan? How can Afghanistan address Pakistani grievances? And how to transform Afghanistan into an area of mutual cooperation between India and Pakistan?

The second day of the conference started with a panel on “The Taliban: What Do They Want?” The panelists analyzed fundamental questions such as what is the political agenda of the Taliban? What are the main claims of the Taliban? Did the Taliban’s perspectives change? What form of state does Taliban envision? And to what extent the Taliban leadership’s perspective differ from their rank and file?

The sixth panel focused on “Afghanistan’s Foreign Policy Status: Neutral, Connector or Divisive? The panelists discussed the concept of neutrality and its relevance to Afghanistan; Role of neighboring countries, particularly Iran in instability and development of Afghanistan; Afghanistan’s position in Belt and Road Initiative and China’s regional diplomacy; Moscow’s view of neutrality of Afghanistan and Afghanistan-Tajikistan Relations. 
The concluding panel explored the way forward and solutions for the conflict. The panelists deliberate on can a second Bonn conference address the current crisis? What is Washington’s view of peace and settlement in Afghanistan; Prospects of US-Afghanistan relations and Does Afghanistan have a National Economic Strategy?

At the end of this two-day conference, Dr. Davood Moradian thanked participants for gathering and sharing their perspectives. He also appreciated Herat’s people for the warm welcoming.

Herat Security Dialogue has been held in Herat for the past six years, as a platform for exchanging thoughts among local, regional and international policymakers. Herat Security Dialogue VII`s full report, including photos and videos, will soon be available on the HSD page.