KABUL (APP) - Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran in a joint statement Monday resolved to enhance cooperation against terrorism, extremism, trafficking of narcotics and regional and international organized crime to strengthen peace, stability, security and economic development in the region. The statement was issued after the first trilateral meeting of Foreign Ministers of the three countries here on Monday. The meeting was the follow up of the agreement reached between the heads of the three neighbours in March this year on the sidelines of the 10th ECO Summit in Tehran, said a spokesman of Pakistans Foreign Office. The meeting took place in a warm and cordial atmosphere. The Foreign Ministers reiterated the importance of trilateral political dialogue and cooperation on regional and international issues of mutual interest. They expressed their strong commitment to redouble their efforts, utilising the potentials of the three countries, in addressing these challenges for the welfare and prosperity of their peoples. They reaffirmed the importance of expansion of economic and trade cooperation among the three countries. They agreed to exchange and promote trade and transit facilities among the three countries, with due regard to the special needs of the land-locked countries, in accordance with the ECO recommendations, particularly the joint declaration of the 10th ECO Summit as well as relevant regional and international conventions. All the sides recognised the need to facilitate and expedite customs transactions to ensure effective and efficient delivery of goods and services. They also agreed to promote preferential trade arrangements between the three countries, and to further strengthen the existing regional agreement and frameworks and remove trade imbalances. They underlined the need to construct in an expedited manner, railways and roads as link networks for enhancing trade, economic growth and strengthened regional cooperation. They affirmed the need to operationalise designated projects for transfer of electricity from Central Asia to Iran and Pakistan through Afghanistan. They reiterated the importance of joint cooperation in the field of agriculture. The Foreign Ministers emphasised joint cooperation to facilitate investment in various fields, in conformity with the national legislation of the three countries, for voluntary participation in relevant actions. They agreed to establish joint training centers aimed at achieving a proficient labour force for formulation of relevant projects among the three countries. They highlighted the importance of consolidating relations among the three countries, including people to people contact, as an important measure to bring to an end trafficking of human beings and, in that regard, agreed to identify additional measures to ensure safe and legal movement of their citizens. They emphasized enhanced cooperation and coordination of activities in fields of culture, education, higher education, health and scientific research. The Foreign Minister acknowledged with great importance the need to enhance cooperation for controlling the spread of transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis and hepatitis. They agreed to hold periodic meeting of Foreign Ministers of the three countries. They also agreed to hold the Second Trilateral Summit in Tehran within one month. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday said Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran had greater sense of their problems and prospects, and stressed the need for evolving indigenous prescriptions for lasting peace and stability in the region. He was addressing at the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran Ministerial Forum in Kabul, which was also attended by Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta and Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki. He said the neighbouring countries are bonded together by time-tested relationship and amity, which transcends the domains of culture and commerce, history and heritage, faith and spirituality. The Foreign Minister expressed satisfaction on the initiative launched by the leadership of three countries at the 10th ECO Summit last month in Tehran. Pakistan views the trilateral mechanism as an important plank of a holistic regional approach towards issues of development and stability in the region, he said. Qureshi said the assembling of three contiguous brotherly countries on a single platform was in accord with the will and aspirations of the peoples for greater cooperation and closer coordination. It is my firm belief that through this initiative, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran can forge a forward-looking development agenda in an atmosphere of trust, understanding and goodwill, he added. Qureshi said the region was endowed with unmatched wealth, especially strong human resource. There is no reason why we cannot synchronise our energies, and harness our collective potential, he said. The Foreign Minister mentioned the senior officials recent meeting in Islamabad that produced some very positive outcomes. We agreed on the fundamentals of our tripartite cooperation. We developed a consensus on giving strong impetus to the trilateral process in the political, economic, development, reconstruction and social fields, and prepare a Framework of Cooperation and pragmatic Plan of Action, he added. Submitting a draft Joint Declaration on the Framework of Trilateral Cooperation, he said Pakistan had come to the meeting with a vision and a plan. He suggested placing the draft of joint declaration before the top leadership at the Second Trilateral Summit in Iran for adoption. He said there was a need to continue consultative process regularly, adding the consultations must focus on finding ways and means to address common issues confronting the region. He said while promoting greater exchanges among the intelligentsia and civil society, focused endeavours must be undertaken for socio-economic uplift of the masses. Qureshi said concerted efforts had to be made for the safe and dignified return of Afghan refugees through creation of appropriate pull factors within Afghanistan. He said, The trans-regional development agenda has to be given concrete shape. It must include immediate steps for creating infrastructure and energy connectivity, adding that trilateral projects for economic development and promoting trade through regional and bilateral arrangements must be initiated, while ensuring full involvement of the private sectors of the three countries.