Foreign

Home page

Foreign

Afghan ambassador to Azerbaijan: â€œWe support the peaceful solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and donâ€™t wish a war to anyoneâ€

06 June 2013 11:34 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Anakhanum Hidayatova – APA. APA’s interview with Ambassador of Afghanistan to Azerbaijan Mohammad Shaker Kargar

- Mr. Ambassador, how do you estimate the level of development of relations between Azerbaijan and Afghanistan?

- Our cooperation had been at the international level before the embassy of Afghanistan was opened in Azerbaijan, but after the opening of the diplomatic mission in Baku, the President and Foreign Minister of Afghanistan visited Azerbaijan. Bilateral relations in cultural, economic and business spheres are developing. Baku will host Azerbaijan-Afghanistan economic forum in August. The Afghan Minister of Communications plans to visit Azerbaijan on June 9, the Interior Minister on June 6.

- Afghanistan appealed to the Azerbaijani side to assist in mine clearing operations. What is the current stage of cooperation in this area?

- We are interested in Azerbaijan’s participation in this issue. You understand how it is important for a country that has been in the state of war for a long time. The full mine clearance in Afghanistan requires many years. We decided to invite our citizens here for training, they will be trained by Azerbaijani specialists and then they will be able to train themselves in Afghanistan.

- Afghanistan also planned to send Afghan students to different universities of Azerbaijan, including military schools. Are there any results?

- Yes, I have already held talks with various ministries and we are going to sign an agreement in this regard. We would like our students to have the opportunity to study at Azerbaijani universities. The first Afghan students will arrive in Baku in September.

- NATO is going to withdraw its peacekeeping contingent from Afghanistan. Will Afghanistan be able to ensure its security independently after that?

- Yes, the process is to start in 2014, the withdrawal of troops will not have an impact on our friendly and fraternal relations, our relations will further enhance. It is a broad issue how the troops will be withdrawn. Currently, 90% of the operations in Afghanistan are being conducted by local troops, I’m sure that our army will be able to resist the enemy independently.

- Which Azerbaijani companies are operating in Afghanistan?

-Today there are companies that are engaged in the oil production, in general, Azerbaijani businessmen are interested in our country. There are also companies that are engaged in marble quarrying. Soon Baku-Kabul daily flight will be launched and it will contribute to further enhancement of the relations between our countries.

- The Afghan government considers Azerbaijan a door to Europe, Azerbaijan is also interested in further strengthening the relations. How do you evaluate the prospects of these bilateral relations?

- This is an important issue, the Ministry of Economy and Trade is working on the projects on Afghanistan’s access to Europe. The first project is Baku-Tbilisi-Kars-Turkmenbashi-Andkhoy way. Afghanistan and Turkmenistan have already signed an agreement on the construction of the railway line. I think that the construction will be completed within a year. I think the first cargo will be transported from Afghanistan to Europe through the Black Sea at the end of 2014.

-Reports of human rights organizations all over the world write that women's rights are violated in Afghanistan. Women don’t get education and are isolated from social processes. Are any activities expected in this regard?

- Today, 8 million pupils are studying at secondary schools of Afghanistan, 45% of them are women. Women's rights are not violated in our country. Furthermore, Afghan Parliament is the only parliament of the world, where women hold at least 30% of seats. It means that a woman in Afghanistan can declare that she has been elected and can protect the rights of the population. Our Ministers of Health and Labour are women. We have women ambassadors and governors. There is a Ministry of Women's Affairs in Afghanistan, no other country has such a ministry. This means that we respect women’s rights. Of course, there is a martial law in the country and mostly women suffer from it. However, this is a war, if the war ends, a woman can even be president in Afghanistan. Our women are studying at universities of all countries in the world. This opinion about us is groundless. In case of war, everything may happen in the country. Afghanistan is rich in mineral resources, therefore we suffer.

-What is Afghanistan’s official position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

- Afghanistan supports peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We don’t wish a war to any country. Afghanistan supports Azerbaijan's position within all international organizations.