The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) is an initiative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Republic of Turkey, which was officially launched at a conference hosted by Turkey in Istanbul on 2 November 2011. Since then, Afghanistan supported by fourteen participating countries of the heart of Asia region and 16 supporting countries beyond the region as well as 12 regional and international organizations is leading and coordinating this process. It is a platform for promoting regional security, economic and political cooperation centered on Afghanistan through dialogue and a set of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs).
The Istanbul Process was superseded by the Doha Process in February 2020 between the first Trump administration and the Taliban, without involvement of the Islamic Republic government, which since the Doha Agreement has lost its legitimacy. When the Afghan government collapsed on 15 August 2021, after the US-led NATO troops withdrawal and the Taliban's final offensive, it caused Afghanistan's political legitimacy crisis. Since then, the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process has become dormant.
Goals of the process The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process aimed at promoting and strengthening peace, security, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan and in the region through confidence building and enhancing regional cooperation among 15 countries of the heart of Asia region.
The HoA-IP became one of the most interactive voluntary state-groupings in the HoA region. It brought Afghanistan's immediate and extended neighbors as well as international supporters together through the following focus areas: Political consultations Implementation of the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) Cooperation with regional organizations
Chairmanship De Facto Secretariat of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process: The Directorate General for Regional Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan is acting as the de facto Secretariat of the Process.
Permanent Chair
Previous Chairs
Membership Current Members
Flag Map English short and formal names Domestic short and formal names Capital Population Area AfghanistanIslamic Republic of Afghanistan Dari: جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان – افغانستان () ()KabulDari: کابل () () AzerbaijanRepublic of Azerbaijan Baku ChinaPeople's Republic of China () Beijing () IndiaRepublic of India ()New Delhi () IranIslamic Republic of Iran () Tehran () 83,183,741 KazakhstanRepublic of Kazakhstan () () Nur-Sultan () KyrgyzstanKyrgyz Republic () () Bishkek () () PakistanIslamic Republic of Pakistan () Islamabad () RussiaRussia is a transcontinental country located in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, but is considered European historically, culturally, ethnically, and politically, and the vast majority of its population (78%) lives within its European part.Russian Federation () MoscowMoscow is located in Europe. () 146,748,590 (including Crimea) 144,386,830
(excluding Crimea) Saudi ArabiaKingdom of Saudi Arabia () Riyadh () TajikistanRepublic of Tajikistan () Dushanbe () TurkeyRepublic of Turkey Ankara Turkmenistan Ashgabat United Arab Emirates () Abu Dhabi () UzbekistanRepublic of Uzbekistan Tashkent
The Heart of Asia Region The geographical area covering the 15 Participating Countries of the HoA-IP is defined as the Heart of Asia Region. It is one of the biggest regions in the world with a collective geographical area of more than 40 million km2 covering around 27% of the land area of the Earth. ABOUT HEART OF ASIA - ISTANBUL PROCESS
Areas of cooperation in the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process
The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process is based on three main areas of cooperation: Political Consultations, Confidence Building Measures, and Cooperation with Regional Organizations.
Political consultations
Political consultations are an important step towards building confidence and generating regional consensus and coherence. This is an intrinsic ingredient of regional cooperation to bring the HoA-IP Participating Countries and stakeholders together around a set of common regional interests and to foster understanding. An Increase in coherent regional political consultations has the potential to strengthen genuine cooperation in the Heart of Asia Region. The Process has identified regional political consultation as its primary element to bring Afghanistan, its near and extended neighbors around the table. In fact, the Process has generated a new momentum of regional cooperation in the Heart of Asia Region and has made progress in creating a sense of interconnectedness between the region and Afghanistan. Most of political obstacles and barriers in the implementation of major regional economic projects, are addressed through this mechanism by finding common grounds that could ensure mutual interests of the Heart of Asia Region, as well as explore new opportunities and areas of cooperation.
Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) and lead countries Regional cooperation requires the identification of areas of common interests. The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process has the following eight different CBMs (one under development) in which one or more than one Participating Country/ies of the Process has/have the lead: 1. Counter Terrorism (CT): Led by Afghanistan, Turkey and [the United Arab Emirates]. 2. Counter Narcotics (CN): Led by [Azerbaijan] and [Russia]. 3. Disaster Management and Environmental Protection (DM&EP): Led by Kazakhstan and Pakistan. In the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the HoA-IP held in Istanbul 2019, it was decided to include the new theme of Environmental Protection to this CBM and rename it to Disaster Management and Environmental Protection CBM. The co-chairs for the year 2020 were mandated to amend the Implementation Plan for this new CBM, which is under development at the moment. 4. Culture and Education (CE): Led by Iran. 5. Regional Infrastructure (RI): Led by [Azerbaijan] and [Turkmenistan]. 6. Trade, Commerce and Investment Opportunities (TCIO): Led by [India]. 7. Agriculture Development (AD): Led by Pakistan and [Uzbekistan]. Approved in [Azerbaijan] 2017 and endorsed in Istanbul 2019. 8. Women Empowerment (WE): The Foreign Ministers of the Participating Countries approved in [Istanbul] 2019 to establish a new CBM of Women Empowerment. The co-chairs for the year 2020 were mandated to develop an Implementation Plan for this new CBM, which is under development at the moment. These CBMs promote regional dialogue and cooperation within the Heart of Asia Region. Each CBM has one or more lead country/ies that coordinate/s the activities and keep/s track of the progress made in each of these areas. Each CBM also has a desk within the Directorate General for Regional Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan and designated persons acting as focal points to follow up with the lead country as well as other Participating Countries along with Supporting Countries and Organizations.
Cooperation with regional organizations For enhancement of current efforts in the region, the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process works in close cooperation with Regional Processes and Organizations in order to create synergy between the Regional Organizations, supplement each other's efforts and avoid duplicity through promoting complementarity.
Implementation Plans (IPs) of the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) Each CBM of the Process has an Implementation Plan (IP), which outlines the priority areas and projects under that specific CBM where the Participating Countries could further enhance regional cooperation by implementing those priority areas and projects. Countries and organizations can voluntarily participate and support the implementation of these priority areas and projects.
Decision making bodies of the Process
The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process consists of four main decision making authorities: the Ministerial Conferences (MCs) the highest level, the Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs), Ambassadorial Meetings (AMs), and Regional Technical Groups (RTGs) Meetings.
Ministerial Conferences (MCs) Ministerial Conferences take place on an annual basis. The MC, inaugurated by the Presidents of Afghanistan and the host nation for the year, is a platform where the Foreign Ministers, high level representatives and delegations of the Participating and Supporting Countries along with Supporting Regional and International Organizations come together to exchange ideas on the progress of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process during the year and discuss ways to tackle challenges that still lie-ahead. The participants of the Ministerial Conference continue their deliberations throughout the day of the conference. By delivering their statements of support, all parties reaffirm their commitments to the Process during the MC. Further, the co-chair and host of the next MC is officially announced. Another important outcome of the MC is the annual Declaration of the HoA-IP that is developed by the Senior Officials of the Participating Countries, prior to the MC. Each Declaration highlights a set of priorities that all Participating Countries agree to follow in the year ahead. These priorities include areas for fostering dialogue, special initiatives and the emphasis on the timely implementation of the CBMs. Following Eight Ministerial Conferences of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process have been held so far: a. 2 November 2011: Istanbul, Turkey 1st Ministerial Declaration hoa.gov.af b. 14 June 2012: Kabul, Afghanistan 2nd Ministerial Declaration hoa.gov.af c. 26 April 2013: Almaty, Kazakhstan 3rd Ministerial Declaration hoa.gov.af d. 31 October 2014: Beijing, China 4th Ministerial Declaration hoa.gov.af e. 9 December 2015: Islamabad, Pakistan 5th Ministerial Declaration hoa.gov.af f. 4 December 2016: Amritsar, India 6th Ministerial Declaration hoa.gov.af g. 1 December 2017: Baku, Azerbaijan 7th Ministerial Declaration hoa.gov.af h. 9 December 2019: Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul Declaration. Peace, Partnership, Prosperity 2019 hoa.gov.af Based on the Istanbul Declaration of 2019, the Republic of Tajikistan is supposed to hold the ninth Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process in 2020.
Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs) Senior Official Meetings are held as deemed necessary. Usually, three to four SOMs take place each year. The first SOM of the year sets the theme. The other two SOMs are held to continue political consultations, review the progress of the CBMs and to finalize the Ministerial Declaration. Political consultations on regional issues within the Heart of Asia Region takes place during SOMs. SOMs directly influence and shape the discourse and agenda of the MC, and have decision-making authority. SOMs also serve as an important platform, where [Participating Countries], [Supporting Countries] and Regional and [International Organizations] engage with one another.
Ambassadorial Meetings (AMs)
Ambassadorial Meetings (AMs) are mostly held in Kabul. They are held on an ad hoc basis, as the Permanent Chair, Afghanistan, deems necessary. They serve as an initial consultation to highlight a set of issues that are either of particular significance or require urgent attention. AMs are held in order to have an initial discussion with the Participating Countries before taking on the issue to the Senior Officials level. AMs are also held to do some initial work on behalf of Senior Officials on a particular issue dealing with any of the CBMs.
Regional Technical Group Meetings (RTGs)