Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- “The very fact of holding this important conference is a great progress. For the first time, a forum is gathering in which the countries of the region, international and regional organizations, major donors, as well as the de facto government of Afghanistan take part,” said Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan Markus Potzel at the international conference “Afghanistan: Security and Economic Development”, taking place on 26 July in Tashkent.

According to him, the main goal of the international community is to assist in stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan, which is in the interests of Afghanistan itself and the Afghans, the region and the world. "No one wants a resumption of war and the isolation of Afghanistan," he added.

Special representatives for Afghanistan from more than 20 states of Central and South Asia, Europe, America, the Near and Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region take part in the conference, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the ISMI. 

In addition, heads and specialists of international and regional organizations such as the UN, EU, FAO, ECO, OIC, SCO are represented at the conference. Among the invited leaders and experts from leading think tanks of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, including from all countries of Central Asia, Russia, the United States, Iran, Pakistan, India and Belgium. 

Among the invited "think tanks" are such structures as the Observer Research Foundation, the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis (India), the Center for Global and Strategic Studies, the Islamabad Institute for Political Studies (Pakistan), the Johns Hopkins Institute for Central Asian and Caucasian Studies (USA), institutes for strategic studies under the presidents of Central Asian countries and others.