ANKARA - President Ashraf Ghani has said that regional efforts must be stepped up to counter ongoing insurgency and terrorism in the region, after holding talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Thursday.

He said a stable Afghanistan was in the interests of regional peace and stability.

Meanwhile, Turkish president Erdogan has warned the international community against repeating mistakes in Afghanistan, calling on the world to remain involved in Afghanistan and to not push the war-hit country to the sidelines.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan further added that its troops will continue to stay in Afghanistan in a NATO-led mission.

he added his country will continue to provide development assistance to Afghanistan. He urged the international community to stand with Afghanistan during its transformation, and provide support in terms of development and security.

"We are extremely grateful for your efforts and for convening the meeting. I hope that this can help to realize the end to the chaotic era of the past and take a new step, a step that could leverage cooperation which can ensure interests of the whole region and the people in the world," Ghani said.

In a question relating to Turkish military presence in Afghanistan, Erdogan said that Turkish troops will continue their mission in Afghanistan and that the world must continue backing Afghanistan in the wake of current challenges.

"International community should not repeat the mistakes committed in the past and do not leave Afghanistan alone particularly during the next ten years which is the transformation decade. They {international community} must continue helping Afghanistan in security and development process," he said.

Turkey has been effectively supporting Afghanistan in various sectors such as security, training of Afghan troops, health and construction sector.

As part of Turkish cooperation to Afghanistan, currently more than a thousand students are pursuing education in Turkish educational institutions.

During the tour, Ghani called on Turkish investors to come forward and invest in Afghanistan, calling it an investment supporting country in the region.

Referring to recently signed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, Ghani said that the implementation of the $10 billion project will further expand cooperation among the regional nations.

"This is a major opportunity-Afghanistan progressively expanding its relations with central Asia," he said.(Tolonews)