DUSHANBE, 17 September (BelTA) - Uzbekistan calls upon the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries to establish a dialogue with the new Afghan leadership, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at the SCO summit in Dushanbe on 17 September, BelTA has learned.
The president emphasized the extreme concern over the situation in Afghanistan, where, according to him, there is a new reality, where new forces have come to power. “It is an accomplished fact. In this regard, it is necessary to develop a coordinated approach to the situation in Afghanistan, as well as to develop a dialogue with the new leadership. In particular, it is important to achieve broad political representation of all segments of the Afghan society in the government, to prevent the possible growth of extremism in the region and the export of radical ideology, the use of Afghanistan for subversive actions in neighboring states,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed. He considers it important that the basic rights and freedoms of citizens, including women and national minorities, were respected in Afghanistan, and that a large-scale humanitarian crisis and growing flows of refugees were prevented. In this regard, the president of Uzbekistan suggested considering unfreezing Afghanistan's state assets held in foreign banks.
In order to consolidate efforts, he also put forward an initiative to hold regular high-level meetings in the SCO-Afghanistan format with the involvement of observer states and dialogue partners.
