A KEY LINK

A regular meeting of the participants in the so-called Istanbul Process [on Regional Security and Co-operation for a Secure and Stable Afghanistan, "Toward Clarity on Post-2014 Afghanistan"] is to be held in Astana on 26 April to discuss the settlement of Afghan-related issues. The topic of Afghanistan was previously discussed at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute affiliated to the US Johns Hopkins University, at a seminar in the run-up to the Astana meeting.

The participants noted Azerbaijan's vital contribution to the trust-building measures in Afghanistan. Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Lynne Tracey, an  aide to the US Secretary of State, spoke highly of the training sessions for Afghan diplomats provided by Azeri, Kazakh and Turkmen experts and of the contribution made by these countries to the development of science in Afghanistan. Noting the significance of the new seaport under construction in Baku for boosting regional cargo transportation, Lynne Tracey stressed that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars joint railway project being built by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey would link up the region with Europe.

The UN Secretary General's special representative in Afghanistan [and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)], Jan Kubis, spoke highly of the part being played by Azerbaijan in maintaining stability in Afghanistan. While he was in Baku, the diplomat answered a number of questions of interest to us.

- Rendering non-military aid to Afghanistan, promoting the development of civilian institutions, is one of the main trends in the international efforts to stabilize the situation in that country. What do you think about Azerbaijan's contribution to this process?

- I have to say that Afghanistan really is receiving a great deal of assistance from Azerbaijan, not only in its capacity as an associate-member of the UN Security Council (it should be recalled that Azerbaijan is working with those states that are instructing the international community in its efforts to sustain the peace and stabilization process in Afghanistan. Azerbaijan is working in a number of specific directions in Afghanistan. It is sufficient to take a look at the republic's participation in the ISAF [tr. International Security and Assistance Force] operation, at Azerbaijan's active involvement in creating the conditions for the withdrawal of the international forces. But what are most important are its efforts to promote future growth, I mean, what Azerbaijan is doing to restore the economic and social foundations needed to underpin Afghanistan's future development.

I make no secret of the fact that I am very pleased that Azerbaijan is introducing a certain system of methods and principles into the country and working actively to resolve some important problems. As a country that has accumulated a certain amount of experience, it has taken new approaches in providing online government [e-government] technologies. It is important that, in spite of the conflicts, Afghanistan is progressing apace in some stages of its development and can draw on Azerbaijan's positive experience. This is why I'm glad that, although Azerbaijan is a small country, it is playing such a vital part in boosting stability in Afghanistan, which means helping to stabilize the entire region.

- Are Azerbaijan and the UN involved in any joint projects providing non-military aid to Afghanistan?

- Yes, for example, the e-government project I have already mentioned. This is a joint project in which Azerbaijan is operating within the UN Development Programme. Within the framework of this project, Azerbaijan has allocated a sufficiently large sum of money to further develop the e-government project.

- What do you think about Azerbaijan's military contribution to ensuring security in Afghanistan?

- You yourself are well aware that, at a certain stage in its development, Afghanistan needed the back-up of the international forces, and Azerbaijan has contributed to this. So, I have a high opinion of its contribution. Although it is not directly my mandate to deal with this, but, in either event, the UN Security Council gave its mandate for the international forces to be involved.

As the international forces are completing their operations, it is important to create the conditions for their unimpeded withdrawal from Afghanistan.  Here too, Azerbaijan is once again one of the leading states involved.

- When we talk about Afghanistan, we can't help mentioning the ongoing problem of narcotics' production and trafficking. What can you say about the figures showing that, since international monitoring has been implemented, narcotics production has by no means gone down, but has, on the contrary, increased many times over?

- You know you are talking about having a rather unstable situation in a country where military operations are going on. This situation doesn't permit the implementation of either programmes to destroy the narcotics' crops or provide the farmers and their families with alternative livelihoods in the future. Naturally, this is quite difficult when military operations are continuing. Therefore, hopefully the presidential elections and the subsequent peace negotiations that we are all hoping for will create conditions for tackling the narcotics' production and trade problems in a more effective manner.

- In your opinion, are the measures being taken to stem the drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Europe adequate?

The measures are clearly inadequate, when we take into consideration the current drug production: heroine production from opium poppies; currently cannabis and marihuana are beginning to be used in the production of opiates in Afghanistan. All these products, if one can call them that, are naturally finding their way into the states where they can be consumed and where there is a market for them. A growth in opiate production is being observed and, unfortunately opiate consumption is rising in a number of countries. It is sufficient to see what is going on in the countries of Central Asia or in Russia where this problem is particularly acute.

It may be concluded from this that all the measures being taken (and many states are actively taking measures in co-ordination with different international programmes) are still insufficient. Much greater attention undoubtedly needs to be paid to this problem.