India has taken up with Turkey the issue of its exclusion from the recent Istanbul conference on Afghanistan, government informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said the Turkish government responded by saying it would have liked India to participate in the conference.
However, at the same time, Istanbul said the conference had evolved from a trilateral meeting involving Afghanistan, Turkey and Pakistan and it was not possible to evolve a consensus on India's participation, Krishna said in reply to a question.
The Turkish side acknowledged India's positive role in Afghanistan's economic development, he said.
Turkey had not invited India for the January 25 conference reportedly at the behest of Pakistan.
To another question, the Minister said India believes that international cooperation, particularly with the neighbouring and regional countries, is essential for peace, stability and development in Afghanistan.
He noted that India has undertaken projects in all parts of Afghanistan in a wide range of sectors, including power, road construction, industry, telecommunications, information and broadcasting, and capacity-building which have been identified by the Afghan government as priority areas for reconstruction and development.
