The Dubai Process: Bilateral cooperation workshops

Overview

As one of Canada's priorities in Afghanistan, Canada has committed to facilitating dialogue and improving border managementbetween Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Since November of 2007, Canada has been facilitating a series of workshops to enhance understanding and confidence between Pakistani and Afghan officials. The workshops are in keeping with the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan and G8 Foreign Ministers Potsdam Statement of 2007.

Over the course of these meetings, Afghan and Pakistani officials have jointly developed and agreed on a set of five documents recommending working-level and concretemeasures for better cooperation in the areas of:

1) Customs

2) Counter-narcotics

3) Managing the movement of people

4) Law enforcement

5) Connecting Government to the people through social and economic development

At the most recent workshop, held March 27-29, 2009 in Dubai, senior officials from both countries agreed on a concrete action plan. The Afghan- and Pakistani-developed planendorses earlier recommendations, identifies concrete next steps and timelines, and establishes a series of Joint Working Groups through which to further implement and discuss improved cooperation: Customs, Managing the Movement of People, Counter-Narcotics, and Law Enforcement.

Results of the Dubai Process

These workshops have already proven to be a success. As a result of the Canadian-facilitated Dubai Process, the Governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to develop a Memorandum of Understanding to open their three legal crossing points seven days per week (previously just five). As well, fruitful discussions have been held toward developing a Customs-to-Customs Agreementbetween Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Other concrete developments include an agreement to conduct reciprocal visits of immigration and law enforcement officials, along with an agreed timeline on which to draft bilateral Memorandums of Understanding onlaw enforcement, counter-narcotics and the movement of people.

The Dubai Process has benefited from a sincere desire and a dire need by Afghan and Pakistani officials, to improve their capacity to deliver on their respective professional mandates, to find pragmatic solutions to related issues and to improve cooperation. The spirit of collaboration, through which much progress has been achieved, will continue to grow as Pakistani, Afghan and Canadian officials work pro-actively and in good faith to implement the recommendations developed by Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Canada sees its modest regional role as that of a facilitator, allowing Afghan and Pakistani officials to set the agenda, identify areas of common interest and concern, and determine next steps. We recognize that our contributions will be effective only insofar as they support solutions, initiatives, and institutions that are locally-led and locally-owned.