Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 19 May 2023, in the city of Xi’an, the Central Asia-China summit was held, at which issues of further expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation, current international and regional topics were discussed.

In particular, speaking at the event, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev focused on issues of ensuring security in the region in the context of the situation in Afghanistan and again called for consolidating the efforts of the countries of the region to achieve long-term and lasting peace in this country.

At the same time, the Head of Uzbekistan noted the importance of using the dialogue platform of the Contact Group within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and neighboring countries of Afghanistan to develop an agreed position and take measures to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe on Afghan soil.

This initiative of Shavkat Mirziyoyev once again confirms Uzbekistan’s firm commitment to achieving long-term and sustainable peace in the neighboring country, and is a logical continuation of the consistent friendly policy towards Afghanistan. Uzbekistan always proceeds from the fact that the security and economic prosperity of the entire region are inextricably linked with peace and stability in Afghanistan.

In this context, it is noteworthy that the proposal to establish the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group was voiced precisely in Tashkent during the summit of the SCO heads of state in 2004.

Its creation made it possible to establish a consultative dialogue with all states of the region on the development of the current military-political situation in Afghanistan, its impact on regional security, and the assistance of the SCO member states to this country in ensuring peace and economic recovery.

Most importantly, thanks to the format of interaction of the Contact Group, the member countries of the Shanghai Organization are effectively coordinating cooperation to contain the challenges and threats emanating from Afghanistan and prevent their spread in the region.

In addition, the ongoing regular dialogue within the framework of the Contact Group also contributes to the development of a regional consensus in the SCO space on the basic principles for resolving the situation in Afghanistan.

It must be emphasized that Afghanistan is currently slipping into an unprecedented socio-economic crisis.

According to the latest UN data, this year more than 28 million people in this country will need urgent humanitarian assistance, 6 million Afghans are "one step away from starvation."

The UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Afghanistan has requested US$4.6 billion in funding in 2023, but has received only US$294 million so far. The shortfall is 94%.

This once again confirms the importance of joining the efforts of the international community in establishing a lasting peace in the neighboring country and developing a common strategy that will help stabilize the situation in Afghanistan and effectively solve problems in this country.

This is exactly what the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the creation of a high-level international group under the auspices of the UN is aimed at. (nominated by the President of Uzbekistan on 13 October 2022 during the VI meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

It is also called upon to overcome differences and unite the efforts of the international community in establishing a lasting peace in Afghanistan based on national accord and intra-Afghan dialogue, based solely on the interests of the Afghan people.

In this regard, the positions of the SCO member countries are of great importance, which consider it important to unite efforts to assist Afghanistan in restoring a peaceful economy through the implementation of social, economic and humanitarian programs and projects.

This will contribute to the achievement of long-term and sustainable peace in this country, the creation of the necessary socio-economic base for the process of a peaceful solution to the Afghan crisis.

At the same time, in order to “synchronize watches”, the President of Uzbekistan also proposed launching a mechanism for meetings of the secretaries of the Security Councils in the “Central Asia-China” format and called for close full-scale cooperation between the special services and law enforcement agencies of the Central Asian states and the PRC in the fight against the forces of the “three evils”, drug trafficking, cross-border and cybercrime.

This, in turn, creates an opportunity to discuss regional security issues and take joint measures to contain threats.

More than 20 foreign terrorist organizations currently operate in Afghanistan, according to the UN.

At the same time, there is an increase in the production of drugs, which also serve as a “food base” for terrorist and criminal groups. According to the UN, the area under opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in 2022 increased by 32% compared to 2021 and amounted to 233 thousand hectares. Today, Afghan opium continues to provide about 80% of all opiate users in the world.

In this context, the "Central Asia-China" format is a unique structure, where almost all countries that are interested in resolving the Afghan issue are represented.

In general, the initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan will make it possible to jointly ensure and maintain peace, security and stability in the vast expanse of Eurasia, and will help strengthen mutual trust and good neighborliness within the framework of the Central Asia-China dialogue platform.

Leading Researcher at ISMI

under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Umarbek Nuriddinov