Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Afghanistan, China and India form a triangle of friendship. Afghanistan provides the best opportunity for these two great powers to collaborate. Historical, cultural, and religious commonalties among these countries, together with the position of Afghanistan in the energy and industry crossroads, provide great opening for these two great Asian rivals to cooperate in Afghanistan.

After the collapse of the Taliban regime, China and India were the first countries that rushed to assist Afghanistan. The Taliban regime was a serious threat to the territorial integrity of these two countries. Taliban provided sanctuaries to the East Turkistan Islamic Movement and other terrorist groups. With the assistance of the Taliban, these terrorist groups have endangered the security of India.

In the past 13 years, China has granted Afghanistan more than $300 million, has trained more than 1,000 government officials, and has offered hundreds of scholarships to Afghans.

The building of the Jamhuriat Hospital, the second phase of the water irrigation system in Parwan province, the establishment of the National Education Center of Science and Technology, as well as the Confucius Institute in Kabul, are examples of projects that have been made possible with Chinese support.

In 2012, China and Afghanistan established a strategic cooperative partnership, and the recent visit of President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai to China opened a new phase of political, economic, security and greater regional ties with China.

China has committed to provide Afghanistan unconditional assistance of more than $300 million for the next three years. China will provide 500 scholarships to Afghanistan, and will train 3,000 government officials in the next three years.

It is very important that China has always shown great respect to the people and government of Afghanistan, and has treated us as an equal partner.

India, the traditional ally of the Afghan people, in the past 13 years has provided Afghanistan more than $2 billion in aid. India is implementing major developmental projects. India has been providing more than 1,500 scholarships to Afghans annually for the last five years, and has a training program in place for government officials at various capacities.

Afghanistan has a strategic partnership with both India and China. The unprecedented friendship of Afghanistan with both countries places us at the top of this "friendship triangle."

Both these two countries are among the largest investors in Afghanistan. China has invested over $3.7 billion in the Aynak copper mine and Amu Darya Basin, and India will invest billions in the Hajigak iron mine.

The diplomatic missions, citizens, and investments of both countries face common threats from a single source. India has tasted this bitter pill in Kabul, Herat and Jalalabad.

The investments of China in copper mine faced serious security threats, and the Chinese embassy in Kabul has received security warnings on more than one occasion, which originated from that "common and single source."

The threat of terrorism is casting a shadow over Asia. It is the moral responsibility of all Asian countries, including China, India, Russia and Japan, to unite against this threat. We should not forget that the geostrategic location of Afghanistan has strategic importance for radical groups.

Ghani has defined the wealth of Afghanistan as two areas, its geographical location and natural resources. Both these assets are vital for China and India. The two countries need these natural resources for their hungry industries.

Afghanistan has ambitious plans for becoming a true land bridge in Asia that works well with similar projects proposed by Chinese and Indian leaders. Implementing these ambitious plans calls for cooperation of Asian giants for security and stability.

Afghanistan, in the words of Ghani, can become a model for cooperation. This model can help Afghanistan to change its geopolitical position, which for the past 200 years was a rout of invaders from north and south, from being a big challenge to being an opportunity for cooperation between South and Central Asia.

In the words of former president Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan should be a meeting point for civilizations, not a battleground for super powers.

We believe that China and India, as historical friends of Afghanistan, and by keeping in view their national interest, should assist Afghanistan for reaching stability, peace and security, which is also vital for their own security and stability.

The author is former Afghan ambassador to China. The article was part of his speech at a seminar held by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in Beijing this week. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn