Delegates from around 30 countries have begun talks at the 6th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process in the northern Indian city of Amritsar.

Representatives from countries including China, the United States, Russia and Pakistan are seeking ways to improve regional security and bring peace to Afghanistan. The country has been mired in conflict since a US-led coalition toppled the hardline Islamist Taliban government in 2001. Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same day.