In April 2007, the foreign ministers of the G8 countries met in Potsdam, Germany in order to discuss current international relevant issues such as the future of the Kosovo as well as the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East and the Sudan. Given the agenda, the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan were invited, too. The G8 ministers affirmed their country’s intention of supporting the bilateral cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The then German Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasized the importance of this bilateral partnership for securing the entire region of South-West Asia.
All G8 ministers underlined the need for bringing the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan together, thus generating confidence in one another. The G8 ministers offered their support in establishing closer bonds between the politicians, parliamentarians, the media, the universities and the people of the two countries.
The KAS introduced a project mainly focusing on Article 11 of the G8 Declaration, the so called “G8 Afghanistan-Pakistan Initiative”, which had been agreed on by all the G8 foreign ministers as well as by those of Afghanistan and Pakistan on May 30th, 2007. (You may find this document detached below.)
The first step of this project was implemented in 2008. A bilateral delegation, consisting of 12 Afghan and Pakistani Parliamentarians as well as four high ranking civil servants, was invited to Germany. There they met up with German parliamentarians and other high ranking officials to discuss the current state of implementation of the “G8 Afghanistan-Pakistan Initiative” and to further elaborate on the future bilateral relation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.