DUSHANBE, October 31, 2011, Asia-Plus -- Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi today morning departed for Istanbul to attend the Conference for Security and Cooperation in the Heart of Asia that will take lace in Istanbul on November 1-2, the Tajik MFA information department reports.

Fourteen countries, including Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Uzbekistan will participate in this ministerial meeting.

Foreign ministers of a number of countries that are supporting the development process in Afghanistan – Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom – will also attend the conference.

Representatives of the United Nations, Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), OSCE, NATO, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), European Union, Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and other international organizations have also been invited to attend the Istanbul conference eon Afghanistan.

This is the first of a series of conferences planned on Afghanistan leading to the “transition” in 2014 when security responsibility will be transferred by NATO to Afghan authorities.  Istanbul will be followed by on December 5 by the International Afghanistan Conference in Bonn.

The International Afghanistan Conference in Bonn on December 5, 2011 will be a key opportunity for the Government of Afghanistan, its neighbors, and the broader international community to also address strengthened economic cooperation in the region.  This will complement the efforts of the region at the Conference for Security and Cooperation in the Heart of Asia in Istanbul on November 2, 2011 to strengthen mutual confidence and good-neighborly relations.

During his stay in Istanbul, Tajik foreign minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with heads of delegations participating in the conference, the source said.