AISS representative attends a one day trilateral Seminar in Beijing on Tuesday July 25 that brought together high-level officials from Afghanistan, the United Kingdom, China and participants from academics, businesses, and financial institutions, as well as multilateral lenders discussing prospects for trilateral cooperation in infrastructure development in Afghanistan.

The one day seminar sponsored by The Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI.Org) and China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) explored current challenges and opportunities and possible financing mechanisms for infrastructure development in Afghanistan.

Speaking at the seminar the British Ambassador to China and the Director General from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed their respective Governments’ strong support for joint cooperation in Afghanistan in the areas of infrastructure development and economic support that can lead to sustainable peace and security.

Inaugurating the conference, the Afghan Ambassador to China welcomed the trilateral seminar and expressed Afghanistan’s interest in materialization of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative.

Addressing a panel on security issues, the AISS representative said that: The people in Afghanistan are denied the basic infrastructure already being developed due to the increasing security complications in the country”. AISS representative further added that the “threat by cross-border terrorism in Afghanistan is real and it needs honest and collective action by all countries in the region including China”.

As a way forward, the AISS representative asked China and the UK to focus funding Joint bilateral infrastructure projects between Afghanistan and Pakistan (Such as: Kandahar – Chaman Railway, Kabul – Peshawar Railway and Kunar Hydropower Project) as element of interdependency between Afghanistan and Pakistan that an ensure longer term trust and peace between the two neighbors.

Conclusions and potential trilateral projects will be captured in a document produced by the organizers, which AISS will share as it becomes available.