On April 13, the 4th meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries was held under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan, in Samarkand. The event was attended by the heads of the foreign ministries of Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and China.

The participants discussed the current situation in Afghanistan, and the efforts of the parties to ensure that the new authorities of the country fulfill the key requirements of the world community – the creation of an inclusive government, guaranteeing Afghan women’s access to work and education, and respect for the rights of national minorities.

The need for developing joint measures to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people and to promote peace in this country and its economic development was emphasized.

The importance of strengthening the measures of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries to combat international terrorism, drug production, and smuggling was noted.

A decision was made to help return Afghanistan to its historical role as a link between Central and South Asia.

The parties expressed interest not only in creating new jobs in Afghanistan, but also in implementing infrastructure and socio-economic projects to more actively integrate the country into the regional economic process.

Samarkand Declaration was adopted following the ministerial meeting of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries.

As part of the forum, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov met with the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of Russia Sergey Lavrov, Pakistan – Hina Rabbani and Iran – Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Mr. Saidov also met with the CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev, who arrived in Samarkand to attend the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States to be held today, April 14.

During the talks, current issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation of countries within the framework of international organizations were discussed.

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Golib Khasanov, UzA