On the initiative of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, an international high-level conference on Afghanistan “Peace process, cooperation in the sphere of security and regional interaction” will be held in Tashkent on March 26-27.
Relations between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan have deep roots. Today, cooperation is developing at an active pace, which is evident in the initiatives of Uzbekistan on addressing the Afghan problem, implementation of many economic projects in this country.
President of Uzbekistan, taking into account the strategic importance of establishing peace in neighboring Afghanistan for ensuring regional and international security, draws the attention of the international community to the need of stabilizing the situation in that country. In particular, Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his speeches at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in September 2017, at the international conference “Central Asia: one past and a common future, cooperation for sustainable development and mutual prosperity” in Samarkand in last November, noted : “We are convinced that the only way to peace in Afghanistan is a direct dialogue, without preconditions, between the central government and the main domestic political forces.”
The heads of the states held meetings at the SCO summit in Astana on June 7 and the summit on science and technology of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on September 10. The official visit of the President of Afghanistan on December 4-6, 2017 to Uzbekistan opened a new page in bilateral relations. As a result of the negotiations, a number of documents were signed concerning the political, trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres. Last year, the volume of trade between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan increased by 39.6 percent and amounted to 599 million US dollars.
In short, people of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan are bound by the traditional ties of good-neighborliness and friendship. Uzbekistan’s efforts on achieving peace and tranquility in Afghanistan, strengthening mutually beneficial partnership with this country are recognized not only by the neighboring state, but also by the entire international community.
