Afghanistan |
Turkey |
Afghanistan–Turkey relations have always been very warm due to strong ethnic and historical links between the two modern states, and have remained strong following the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2002.[1][2]
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Afghan and Turkish relations spans several centuries, as many Turkic and Afghan peoples ruled vast areas of Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent particularly the Mughal, Khilji, Timurid, Lodhi, and Durrani empires. Throughout its long history, many Ottoman officials were in close contact with Afghan leaders even up until the early 20th century when the Ottoman administrator Ahmad Jamal Pasha went to Afghanistan where he worked on modernizing the Afghan Army. Ertuğrul Osman, the current head of the Imperial Ottoman Dynasty, is married to Zeynep Tarzi Hanım Efendi, the daughter of Abdulfettah Tarzi, niece of the former King of Afghanistan, Amanullah Khan.
Afghanistan was the second country to recognize the Republic of Turkey, after the Soviet Union, establishing diplomatic contacts whilst the Turkish War of Independence was still being waged. Talks held in Moscow on March 1, 1921 resulted in the Turkey-Afghanistan Alliance Agreement and a period of intense cooperation. In 1937, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Turkey signed the Treaty of Saadabad.
Turkey has participated in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since its inception with the deployment of 290- non-combatant support personnel in 2001 and has assumed command of ISAF II (June 2002-February 2003) and ISAF VII (February–August 2005). According to Turkish Parliamentary Deputy Burhan Kayatürk Turkey, which has the goodwill of the Afghani people, “can help win the hearts and minds of the Afghani people,” who, “like the Turkish soldiers,” and, “steer them away from militancy by strengthening the infrastructure in education, health and industry.”[3]
Turkish construction firms have subsequently also become active in the country. Turkey is responsible for maintaining security around Kabul, providing training for the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police and have undertaken a number of reconstruction projects in the fields of education, health and agriculture in the province of Vardak. Turkey’s support of the Bonn Agreement and the Afghan Constitution Commission resulted in an official visit to Turkey by Afghan President Hamid Karzai on April 4, 2002 and made a reciprocal visit to Afghanistan by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a short time later.
Turkey launched a trilateral summit process between the two states and Pakistan in February 2007, following a visit by then Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül to Islamabad, as the backbone of its diversified foreign policy in Southeast Asia and Pakistani deputy Humair Hayat Khan Rokhri confirmed that according to Gül “we are all brothers who need to support each other,” in order to, “bring security and stability to the region.”[4]
An April 1, 2009 meeting between Afghan and Pakistani leaders, conducted as part of the trilateral Ankara cooperation process, saw the three countries pledged to increase coordination between their political, military and intelligence tiers in the fight against militancy and terrorism. Turkish Parliamentary Deputy Kayatürk has stated that, “It is the first time that the military and intelligence chiefs of Afghanistan and Pakistan have attended the trilateral summit, which is a reflection of the deeper commitment to work together.”[3]
Afghan and Pakistani parliamentary deputies came together in Ankara on May 5, as part of the trilateral Ankara cooperation process, where they met with the now Turkish President Gül and new Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to discuss a variety of issues. Head of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Relations Commission Murat Mercan stated;
“Today we need cooperation between our countries more than ever. I believe Turkey, having historical brotherhood relations with both, is in a special position to improve and deepen this cooperation. Turkey is confident that the cooperation to be established between Afghanistan and Pakistan will help a lot to solve the problems.”[5]
Vice-Chairman of the Afghan Parliament’s Foreign Relations Commission Mohammed Shakir Kargar responded by reaffirming this historical friendship built upon by Attatürk and thanked Turkey for its help with the post-Taliban restructuring. Mercan concluded, “We are finally on the verge of institutionalising the trilateral Ankara cooperation process within the framework of parliamentary joint initiatives,” with follow-up meetings due to be held in Islamabad and Kabul at four-month intervals.
After the very controversial 2009 election, President Karzai visited the President of Turkey in November 2009 to consolidate relations with other stakeholders in the region.[6] The president of Turkey affirmed that Turkey had to take an active part in stabilizing the region, taking up the torch of western activity in the region and specifically in Afghanistan.[6]
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