Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 28 October 2020, an international expert online forum was held on the issues of achieving long-term and sustainable peace in Afghanistan.

Experts from leading think tanks from Central and South Asia, the Middle East, the United States, Great Britain, EU, Australia, Japan, as well as representatives of the leading think tanks of the countries of Central and South Asia, the Middle East, as well as representatives of international organizations.

A thorough exchange of views took place on the early establishment of peace in Afghanistan, strengthening the regional and international consensus in this direction.

Noting the key importance of stabilizing Afghanistan for security and sustainable development in the vast region of Central and South Asia, First Deputy Director of the ISMI A. Nematov pointed out the need to create favorable conditions for the formation, first of all, of a sustainable regional consensus on the need to achieve long-term peace in Afghanistan, which, in turn, will provide a solid foundation for international consensus. At the same time, the importance of the continuity, progress and inclusiveness of the process of the peaceful settlement of the situation in Afghanistan was emphasized.

As the factors consolidating the countries of the region, according to the representative of the ISMI, trans-regional trade, economic, transport, logistics and energy projects, designed to increase the role of Afghanistan as a link between Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, could be used. In this regard, as the expert emphasized, Uzbekistan is interested in the implementation of projects for the construction of the Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar and Mazar-i-Sharif-Herat railway lines with access to the ports of the Indian Ocean, and also supports projects to develop the energy interconnection of countries Central and South Asia, including the supply of electricity and blue fuel through Afghanistan to Pakistan and further to India.

The practical implementation of such projects, Nematov believes, on the one hand, will contribute to the restoration of the peaceful economy of Afghanistan, strengthening the social base of the peace process in this country, on the other hand, it will strengthen the interaction of regional countries interested in the growth of the welfare and security of their peoples, in achieving early peace in Afghanistan. “Each implemented project in Afghanistan could become a success story, a hope for a peaceful life in the country,” summed up the first deputy director of the ISMI.