Afghanistan and its neighbors have ended a two-day conference in Kabul with a pledge to boost economic cooperation in a region reaching from China to Turkey and the Persian Gulf.
In a joint declaration, delegations from 12 nations pledged cooperation in areas including electricity, counternarcotics, and water resource management.
Britain co-chaired the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference as current holder of the G8 presidency.
British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells said the Kabul Declaration marks the "moment when Afghanistan has become a real player in bringing peace and stability to the region."
The meeting brought together six nations bordering Afghanistan -- Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Pakistan and China, as well as India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
