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Central & South Asia
Turkey hosts Pakistan-Afghan talks
Presidents of the three countries meeting in Istanbul in bid to improve relations between Kabul and Islamabad.
Last Modified: 24 Dec 2010 14:08 GMT
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The trilateral summit aims to ease relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan [Reuters] The presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan are to hold talks with Turkish leaders in Istanbul in a trilateral meeting aimed at tackling issues of regional stability and the troubled ties between the two neighbours.Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president, said the summit between the three countries, the fifth such meeting since 2007, was being held to "enhance peace and development" between Kabul and Islamabad.
Earlier on Friday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, met separately with Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, and Hamid Karzai, Zardari's Afghan counterpart.
On the agenda during the talks between the three nations starting will be an analysis of recent regional developments and a review of previous meetings between the countries' intelligence chiefs.
The leaders, who are holding the talks at a former Ottoman palace on the banks of the Bosphorus, are also set to discuss ways to increase co-operation on security and anti-drug trafficking efforts.
The trilateral talks follow a summit meeting of the 10-member Economic Co-operation Organisation (ECO) which concluded in Istanbul on Thursday.
The organisation, which includes Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as Iran and other Central Asian states, aims to build closer trade ties between Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
Established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, it seeks to promote economic, technical and cultural co-operation between the member states.
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Agencies
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