Afghanistan wants connectivity, not charity: Ghani

Kabul: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani while addressing a side event of the Geneva summit explained the ways through which can improve its economy and reiterated that the country does not want charity; it wants connectivity.

Ghani said that Afghanistan's dream is to become a roundabout for the region, TOLO news reported on Tuesday.

"Afghanistan is one of these places of intersection, as historical trade roads ranging from the grand trunk road to the lapis lazuli and silk met here," Ghani said on Monday.

"Names given to us capture the significance of our location best: the heart of Asia; gates of India; land bridge; roundabout, a place where goods, ideas, and people freely move, circulate and interact; Switzerland of Asia."

Ghani said a strong regional consensus is essential to creating sustainable peace in the country.

He added that sustainable peace can be achieved by developing a common understanding of the current context, having reached an agreed-upon end state for a political settlement in Afghanistan, endorse Afghanistan's posture of multi-alignment, cooperate with us to develop a regional framework to guarantee peace and political stability and engage with a medium-to-long-term strategy of cooperation based on mutual interest.

He suggested five initiatives to help improve regional connectivity and enhance trade between regional partners and Afghanistan.

He said the initiatives include support for speeding up regional projects, secure agreement either by the adoption of global standards or creation of regional standards on trade, transit, and transport, examine the gaps in critical infrastructure in Afghanistan, help Afghanistan become a hub of green energy and industry; and cooperate with Afghanistan on its agenda of digital transformation.

Ghani said the foundation for improving regional cooperation and connectivity is now firmly in place.

Ghani said some of the measures that will enable Afghanistan to accelerate and expand its common efforts are taking advantage of the consensus among regional leaders on the centrality of regional cooperation and connectivity and adopting regional asset management.

Ghani said that a sovereign, united, democratic Afghanistan will be an asset to the region and the world.

"The violence that Afghans suffer is beyond endurance," Ghani concluded.