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6th Heart of Asia Conference Gets Underway In Amritsar
The 6th Heart of Asia ministerial conference starts Sunday in Amritsar city in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab.
At least 40 countries will be represented along with the European Union and international organizations.
The conference will be officially opened by President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ghani arrived in Amritsar Saturday night where he was welcomed by Modi.
"Thank you Mr. Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the warm welcome! It is a great honor to be back in India with you," Ghani said after his arrival.
Read the full story at TOLOnews
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Ghani, Modi Officially Open Heart Of Asia Conference
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly opened the 6th Heart of Asia ministerial conference on Sunday in Amritsar city in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab.
In his address to delegates, Ghani said the summit takes place during an extremely important time and that it will hopefully help to prepare for 2017 and beyond.
Ghani said that last year, Afghanistan suffered its highest number of casualties to date and that "this is unacceptable".
He said the undeclared war against Afghanistan had significantly increased in 2016 – especially after the Brussels Summit, in October.
He said that close to 30 terrorist groups, as named by the United Nations, were trying to establish a base in Afghanistan.
He also warned that the response of states to the threat of terrorism has been fragmented and some still provide sanctuary or support to these groups.
Ghani suggested a regional counter-terrorism fund be established to fight the threat but also said that there is a need to identify cross-border activities.
Read the full story at TOLOnews