The international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague sought engagement of Afghanistan's neighbors, marking a shift of strategy of the West more than seven years into the war.

The regional dimension of the issue of Afghanistan became a keyword for Tuesday's conference, which brought together high-ranking officials from 72 countries and a dozen international organizations.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the Afghan problem cannot be solved without the engagement of all Afghanistan's neighbors.

She said narcotics, violent extremism, economic stagnation, water management, electrification and irrigation are all regional challenges that require a regional solution.

She also noted that the United Nations has the prime responsibility to coordinate regional efforts and Washington would support the UN in its work.

Clinton distanced the Obama administration's Afghanistan policy from that of the previous Bush administration, indicating that the Afghanistan campaign was under-resourced and under-financed.

"The challenge is great. But the opportunity is clear if we move away from the past," she said.

"Our collective inability to implement a clear and sustained strategy has allowed violent extremists to regain a foothold in Afghanistan and in Pakistan and to make the area a nerve center for efforts to spread violence from London to Mumbai," she stressed.

She outlined U.S. President Barack Obama's new strategy, which brings together Afghanistan and Pakistan, military and civilian.

Afghan President Harmid Karzai said he welcomed the growing recognition that without the true cooperation of Afghanistan's neighbors, the victory over terrorism cannot be assured.

European Union (EU) commissioner for external relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner also underscored the regional component of the conference. She said the fact that all Afghanistan's neighbors are present itself is important.

"Only if all the neighbors of Afghanistan really have the political will to contribute to the positive developments and the eradication of radicalism and extremism, then there will be a chance for Afghanistan to survive," she told a press conference.

She said Iran's participation in this conference is a positive step and the rapprochement between Washington and Tehran is a " good starting point."

NATO Secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said a regional approach is a priority for NATO, which is willing to engage Afghanistan's neighbors and supports Afghanistan's cooperation with them.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Medhi Akhundzadeh said his country supports the international community's emphasis on a regional approach to Afghanistan. "The Islamic Republic of Iran ... sees any positive development in this regard as a positive progress for the regional security and its own national security and believes that the strengthening of cooperation amongst the neighbors of Afghanistan in various fields needs to be placed high on the agenda so that security will be established in this country," he noted.

Iran's participation in the conference is widely seen as a result of the recent rapprochement initiative of the Obama administration.

Clinton said her country and Iran have agreed to keep in touch after her special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, had a "brief and cordial" exchange with Akhundzadeh on the sidelines of the conference.

Clinton said the United States and Iran share the concern over narcotics in Afghanistan. "We will look for ways to cooperate with them," she said.

"I think the fact that they came today and intervened today is a promising sign that there will be future cooperation," she added.

Clinton saw to it that a letter was delivered to the Iranian side, requesting Tehran to allow three U.S. citizens to return to the United States. The direct delivery of letter between the two countries, which severed ties 30 years ago, has been rare.

Although Akhundzadeh questioned the effectiveness of the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan, he pledged that his country will participate in counter-narcotics and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is fully prepared to participate in the projects aimed at combating drug trafficking and the plans in line with developing and reconstructing Afghanistan," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2009)