 EU boosts aid to Philippines to stimulate Muslim peace process Manila (AFP) Dec 9, 2015 - The European Union announced on Wednesday that it was sharply boosting aid to the Philippines, largely to help sustain a peace process with Muslim rebels in the south. EU ambassador Franz Jessen said the bloc was providing 5.5 million euros ($6 million) to five projects for the Muslim-dominated areas covered by the peace process even as the grouping more than doubled aid in general to the Philippines. His announcement comes as a draft law to create the Muslim self-rule area appeared stalled in the legislature despite lobbying by President Benigno Aquino. Aquino had hoped to have the draft law passed this year as a crucial step in ending decades of Muslim separatist violence that has claimed more than 100,000 lives since the 1970s. "I want to reaffirm the importance the EU attaches to giving life to the (peace process) and to the development of the long-term political, economic and social pillars that will bring the peace dividend to the country as a whole," Jessen told reporters. The EU ambassador said he would be visiting the southern Philippines to meet with key parties in the peace process including Muslim separatist guerrilla leaders. He also said EU aid to the Philippines had been increased to 325 million euros in 2014 to 2020, more than double the amount released from 2007 to 2013, largely to help people in the impoverished south. Although the Philippines is largely Christian, it has a significant Muslim minority who claim the southern region of Mindanao as their ancestral home. The Muslim minority are among the poorest people in the strife-torn south, where economic development has been hampered by violence and criminality, often coming from Muslim armed groups. Jessen said achieving peace would attract European investment and improve living conditions in the south. A Norwegian and an Italian are believed to be among the people being held hostage by Muslim outlaw groups in the south but Jessen said prospective investors were aware of the risk. It is feared that if the law to create a Muslim self-rule area is not in place before Aquino steps down next year, it may founder under his successor.
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Afghan president Ashraf Ghani arrived in Islamabad Wednesday hoping to revive peace talks with the resurgent Taliban, as he opened a regional conference that has taken on added significance with the attendance of India's top diplomat.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif personally welcomed Ghani at the airport in a red-carpet reception with a guard of honour and 21 gun salute, with the leaders scheduled to hold bilateral talks later in the day.
The Afghan leader's visit to Pakistan came as at least nine people were killed in a Taliban siege at an airport in Kandahar, highlighting the insurgents' ongoing capacity to carry out spectacular attacks despite reports of factional infighting.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan had plummeted since July following confirmation that the Taliban's founder Mullah Omar was dead, a revelation that scuppered nascent peace talks between Kabul and the Islamist movement.
Ghani subsequently blamed Pakistan for a surge in Taliban attacks inside Afghanistan, accusing Islamabad of sending "messages of war".
On Wednesday, both leaders vowed to fight militancy and extremism in the region after they jointly opened a regional conference in Islamabad.
Their meeting is seen as a strong signal that both sides are attempting to revive the Taliban talks, brokered by Pakistan's powerful army which has long wielded influence over the insurgent group.
"I strongly reiterate our commitment to a lasting and just peace within which all movements that resort to arms convert themselves to political parties and participate in the political process legitimately," urged Ghani in his speech.
But Ghani added that Pakistan's military operations in its restive northwest had the "unintended consequences" of causing militant groups to spillover into Afghanistan.
"Terrorism and extremism is the common enemy of all, we need a collective approach to combat this menace," said Sharif, before highlighting the growing threat the Islamic State group poses to both countries.
"The enemies of Afghanistan are the enemies of Pakistan," he added.
- Mending ties -
India's foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, whose arrival in Pakistan marked the highest-level visit from New Delhi since 2012 and is seen by observers as a sign of improving ties between the two countries, said she had come "with a message for better relations".
"It is important and we want to take the relations further -- I will only be able to tell you more when I am leaving," she told reporters after arriving at the airport Tuesday.
Tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have spiked over the past two years, with cross-border shelling over their disputed border in Kashmir claiming dozens of lives since 2014.
But a brief meeting between Sharif and his counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris on November 30 appeared to have broken the ice.
While talks between India and Pakistan are likely to focus on Kashmir and security issues, observers are also watching keenly for an announcement on whether or not the first cricket series between the two countries in three years will go ahead.
The Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process was established in 2011 as an initiative by Afghanistan and Turkey to foster regional cooperation and long-term peace in Afghanistan.
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