Uzbek President speech at International Conference on July 26, 2022

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File Photo of Uzbek President

Dear heads of delegations!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am sincerely glad to welcome all the participants of the Tashkent International Conference “Afghanistan: Security and Economic Development”.

I express my special gratitude to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterres, for supporting our initiative to hold this forum.

The participation in its work of the representative of the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Markus Potzel, is evidence of the continued commitment of the United Nations to the goals of strengthening peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The significance of today’s meeting is enhanced by the participation in the conference of special representatives of the European Union and European countries, China, Russia, the United States, the states of Central and South Asia, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region. You are directly involved in decision-making to resolve the problems of Afghanistan and provide assistance to the Afghan people.

We are glad to see at today’s forum the leaders of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Economic Cooperation Organization, as well as representatives of international financial institutions and leading think tanks.

We welcome the representative Afghan delegation participating in the conference, headed by the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Amir Khan Muttaki.

We are confident that this conference will contribute to a constructive exchange of views on building cooperation with the new Afghan authorities, based on a comprehensive consideration of the interests of the Afghan people and the world community as a whole.

Dear conference participants!

For thousands of years, the Uzbek and Afghan peoples lived side by side with each other. We are united by common cultural, spiritual and historical values, a single religion and the heritage of great ancestors.

It should be noted that without stability on the other side of the Amu Darya, it is impossible to achieve security and sustainable development in Uzbekistan and throughout the Central Asian region.

In this regard, the decline in world attention to Afghanistan, which is facing a deep socio-economic and humanitarian crisis in its recent history, cannot but cause concern.

We are convinced that today the world community can and should avoid repeating the mistakes of the 1990s.

It is important to prevent the international isolation of Afghanistan, which will inevitably lead to a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation. We are talking about the fate of millions of people.

Today, the Provisional Government of Afghanistan is taking certain steps towards the peaceful development of the country, striving to improve the socio-economic situation, establish friendly relations with neighboring states, mutually beneficial cooperation with the international community. And we must encourage and support these efforts.

At the same time, the formation of a broad representation of all strata of the Afghan society in government, ensuring basic human rights and freedoms, especially women, and all ethno-confessional groups, remain fundamental conditions for establishing long-term peace in Afghanistan.

We call on the current government of Afghanistan to demonstrate firm will and take decisive measures to prevent and counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, to break ties with all international terrorist organizations.

This will help build confidence in the Interim Government and open up real prospects for the sustainable development of Afghanistan in an atmosphere of friendship, good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation with its immediate environment and the international community.

Dear friends!

The recently adopted UN General Assembly Special Resolution on strengthening interconnectedness between Central and South Asia also confirmed the vital importance of maintaining peace in Afghanistan for ensuring international security.

We, the entire international community, must show solidarity with the Afghan people. We should focus our efforts on creating real prerequisites for the development of Afghanistan as a peaceful, stable and prosperous country, free from terrorism, wars and drugs.

Our common priority should be the reconstruction of the Afghan economy, which is an important condition for achieving lasting peace in this long-suffering country. In particular, this includes its integration into interregional economic processes, the implementation of infrastructure and socially significant projects.

Uzbekistan, for its part, is making a significant contribution to international efforts to assist the socio-economic and humanitarian revival of Afghanistan, including by promoting major trans-regional infrastructure projects.

In conclusion, I would like to express the hope that today’s conference will become an effective platform for fruitful discussions and the development of agreed approaches that meet the interests and aspirations of the people of Afghanistan.

I wish all participants of the conference successful work.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev,

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan