Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 6 October 2020, with the support of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in London, an online conference was held by the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the Research Group of the British Foreign Office for South Asia and Afghanistan.

Foreign policy specialists and leading experts from research centers of Uzbekistan and Great Britain took part in the dialogue on the promotion of intra-Afghan peace talks, strengthening trans-regional interconnection between the countries of Central and South Asia, as well as strengthening Uzbek-British cooperation in the Afghan direction.

On the British side, there are scientists and researchers from such reputable think tanks as Chatham House, the Royal United Services Institute, and the Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies of the University of Oxford.

The expert community of Uzbekistan was represented by leading analysts from the Information and Analytical Center for International Relations, the University of World Economy and Diplomacy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, and the Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies.

Opening the online conference, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uzbekistan to Great Britain S. Rustamov stressed that the establishment of peace in Afghanistan is an important condition for ensuring stability and sustainable development in Central Asia. As of today, Uzbekistan has established strong ties with all countries involved in the resolution of the Afghan problem, incl. with Great Britain. A dialogue is carried out on a regular basis between the foreign ministries, special envoys for Afghanistan and the analytical structures of the two countries.

In turn, the first deputy director of the ISMI A. Nematov noted that the regular meetings of Uzbek and British experts on the political settlement of the Afghan conflict testify to the parties' firm commitment to achieving long-term and sustainable peace in Afghanistan and mutual willingness to cooperate in this direction.

A. Nematov stressed that the launch of direct negotiations between the government of the IRA and the Taliban movement provides a historic chance to put an end to the long-term war in Afghanistan. In this regard, they noted the importance of comprehensive support for national, regional and international consensus regarding the observance of the key political principles of peacebuilding in Afghanistan, enshrined in the Tashkent Declaration, adopted at the end of a high-level international conference in March 2018 in Tashkent.

According to the representative of the ISMI, peace and stability in Afghanistan will open up broad prospects for achieving sustainable development throughout the Eurasian continent. In this context, the importance of the adoption of a comprehensive peace program for Afghanistan initiated by the President of Uzbekistan Sh. Mirziyoyev at the Tashkent conference, which includes measures agreed at the regional and global levels to achieve long-term and sustainable peace in Afghanistan, was noted.

A. Nematov noted that the functioning of the Standing Committee on Afghanistan at the UN, the creation of which was proposed by Sh. Mirziyoyev at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, would allow consolidating various interests and strengthening the interaction of the international community in promoting the peace process in Afghanistan, mobilizing additional resources for implementation of infrastructure projects and programs of socio-economic development, restoration of a peaceful economy in this country, which would help to ensure a continuous and progressive process of political settlement of the situation in the Islamic republic.

Commenting on the policy of Uzbekistan in the Afghan direction, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to Uzbekistan T. Torlot noted that Uzbekistan plays a leading role in the development of regional ties between Afghanistan and neighboring countries. He stressed that London highly appreciates the important and strategic role of Tashkent in advancing the peace process in the Islamic Republic and fully supports the efforts of President Sh. Mirziyoyev to involve Afghanistan in the Central Asian zone of stability, prosperity and good neighborliness.

At the same time, the diplomat pointed out that today, when due to the pandemic, 90% of the Afghan population needs economic assistance, 35% are faced with the problem of lack of food supply, continued cooperation between Uzbekistan and the UK in restoring the peaceful economy of Afghanistan, in the fight against drug trafficking, terrorism and extremism is becoming even more relevant.