By EuAsiaNews,
Luxembourg : Foreign ministers of the 27-member European Union gave Tuesday the green light for the adoption of an EU Action Plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan .
“Turning the page in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a formidable challenge. It can only be done through concerted national, regional and international action. The conflict in Afghanistan cannot be solved without addressing the complex problems in Pakistan. Pakistan must be part of the solution,” said the EU foreign ministers in a statement following their 2-day meeting here.
” We want to promote a secure, stable and prosperous future for the people of both countries. Many of the most serious global threats facing us today can be found in Afghanistan and Pakistan: terrorism and militant extremism, illegal drugs, trans-national crime and weapons of mass destruction. Instability and insecurity there have a direct impact here in Europe,” noted the statement.
“With a new government soon to take office in Kabul, and a deteriorating security situation in the region, the adoption of the EU action plan comes at a critical time”, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt whose country holds the current EU Presidency told reporters.
Any international approach must acknowledge the evident differences between Pakistan and Afghanistan but must equally encompass the need for complementarities and coherence between the two, said the EU ministers.
The EU said it is committed to strengthening its partnership with Pakistan. The EU and its Member States provide more than 300 million euro a year in economic support and development to Pakistan.
“With Pakistan, the EU will further develop the strategic relationship that is emerging after the successful ad hoc Summit of June 2009.
“In partnership with the Pakistani Government, the EU will support the strengthening of democratic institutions and the rule of law, as well as economic development and trade. ”
The EU welcomed “ the increased responsibility Pakistan is taking for its own security notably in the Malakand Division. We expect that the same approach will be followed against all forms of terrorism. ”
The ministers said the EU supports an increased dialogue between Afghanistan and Pakistan and regional stakeholders: India, China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Central Asian nations, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, including the SCO.
A comprehensive exchange on these issues should
be a recurrent part of bilateral dialogues with and between regional stakeholders, it added.