Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 29 February, in the capital of Qatar, the city of Doha, the long-awaited peace agreement was signed between the United States and the Afghan Taliban movement, which could initiate intra-Afghan national reconciliation.

Afghanistan is considered by Tashkent as an integral part of the region, therefore efforts to establish peace in this country are so important. The sustainable development of Central Asia directly depends on the stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan. As the President of Uzbekistan has repeatedly emphasized, "it is impossible to talk about a peaceful and prosperous Central Asia without solving the Afghan problem."

The decisive contribution of Uzbekistan to the revitalization of the intra-Afghan peace process was the High-Level International Conference on Afghanistan, held on the initiative of the Head of the Republic in March 2018 in Tashkent. The event was attended by the Presidents of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, representatives of all states - permanent members of the UN Security Council, leading countries of the region and authoritative international organizations.

Speaking at the Tashkent Conference, the President of Uzbekistan demonstrated a clear strategic vision of ways to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan and outlined the main priorities of the "Afghan policy of Tashkent", which became the "cornerstone" of intensifying international efforts for a peaceful settlement in the IRA.

The key outcome of the forum was the unanimous adoption of the Tashkent Declaration, which secured full consensus at the regional and global levels regarding the basic principles for establishing long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The direct participants in the event in Qatar tell about the role that Uzbekistan played in advancing the peace process in Afghanistan.

Zalmay Khalilzad, US Special Representative for Afghanistan.

- The Tashkent conference, initiated by the President of Uzbekistan, played the role of an important foundation for achieving current practical results. After this conference, negotiations were held between the US and the Taliban. And they were not just negotiations. They opened the door to negotiations between intra-Afghan forces. In addition, in accordance with the signed agreement, the territory of Afghanistan will no longer harbor international terrorist groups. And this issue will of course be subsequently monitored by the signatories. The main goal is the establishment in Afghanistan of holistic peace and stability. Once again, I want to emphasize separately that the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev today plays an extremely large role. ... The long-awaited peace process opens up great opportunities for the region, for the whole world. And from this point of view, new prospects for the development of the economy, trade, and regional integration are opening up. New jobs will be opened in the region, industry, transport and logistics will develop.

Marcus Potzel, Special Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

- Afghanistan is part of Central Asia. Germany has been cooperating with Uzbekistan for many years on Afghanistan.

As part of the cooperation, grants are provided for training Afghan youth. A vivid example of interaction can also be called the five-way approach, in which the efforts of Qatar, Norway, Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Germany establish a dialogue between various forces and groups in Afghanistan. Germany believes that Uzbekistan occupies an important place in establishing peace in Afghanistan. It was the President of Uzbekistan who initiated the international conference aimed at establishing peace in Afghanistan. In addition, during the visit of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank Walter Steinmeier, to Uzbekistan in May 2019 with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Afghanistan was deeply analyzed.

Abdul Salom Hanafiy, Deputy Head of the Political Representation of the Taliban in Qatar

- We highly appreciate the efforts of the President of Uzbekistan. He put forward very good initiatives in the interests of peace, stability and security in our country. We appreciate it. The peoples of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan have historical roots. All who live in this region are united. Allah will give and in the future we will live in peace and good neighborliness. The security of Afghanistan is the security of Uzbekistan. We hope we will cooperate.

Corey Din Muhammad, Deputy Head of the Political Representation of the Taliban in Qatar

- For many years, the war in Afghanistan continues for almost 40 years. It is very important for us and our neighbors to stop fighting, to establish peace and stability. We know that the President of Uzbekistan put forward important initiatives to establish peace in Afghanistan and today we are achieving this historic result. Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have common borders, culture. The peoples of the two countries live on two both sides of the same river. Our destinies are connected historically, like five fingers of one hand. And your assistance in ensuring peace, in the field of construction, education and other fields is much more effective than the help that comes from distant countries.

1. Aripov, Director of the Institute of Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

- The signing of a peace agreement between the US and the Taliban is truly a historic event. For the first time in 40 years of the war, it was possible to put an end to violence, countless civilian casualties. During this time, about 2 million people died, 4 million Afghans ended up outside the country as forced refugees. Today, the prospects for peace indicate that in the near future millions of Afghans will have the opportunity to begin a calm, peaceful life. Of course, a huge contribution to the progress towards peace in Afghanistan, to the signing of this peace agreement that took place today, was made personally by the President of Uzbekistan, respected Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev. It was on his initiative that a powerful start was given to this peace process at one time. I mean, first of all, the Tashkent Conference on Afghanistan. Then it was possible to form a consensus among global powers and among neighboring countries regarding common principles and approaches to resolving the Afghan conflict. Few believed that this was possible in principle. Few believed in the prospects for peace in Afghanistan. But thanks to the consistent and pragmatic policy of Uzbekistan, this was possible to do.

1. Kamilov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan

- The signing of a very important agreement between the United States and the Afghan Taliban. The main conditions on which both sides settled are a ceasefire, an end to violence and the beginning of peace negotiations in Afghanistan. This road opens for the first time in forty years. And I must say that over the past two years, from the beginning of the Tashkent conference, initiated by the respected President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, a lot has been done. Moreover, this was done by Uzbekistan in very difficult conditions, when, firstly, there was no full confidence on the part of large states that Uzbekistan was able to solve such problems, and secondly, there were a lot of discussions and disputes. But, nevertheless, thanks to the determination, pragmatism of our President, his real assessment of the situation, we have achieved great success.

And, in fact, over the past two years we have come a long way from Tashkent to Doha, which has not been covered in the forty years of the war in Afghanistan. First, a belt of well-being and security is forming around Uzbekistan. One of the concrete results of all the efforts undertaken by the respected President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in the Afghan direction is to strengthen the security of our republic. I want to give one example: this is our meeting in Doha with the leadership of the Taliban. Representatives of the leadership of this movement assured us that they, for their part, would never allow any threat to the security of our republic from the territory of Afghanistan. I say this because some “comments” and assumptions are still being heard that the Taliban will move to Central Asia tomorrow, including Uzbekistan, and the situation will explode again. I think that such “commentators” and observers should draw appropriate conclusions.

Secondly, huge opportunities are opening up before us for exporting our goods, for trade, and developing communications with our southern neighbors. This is a huge market for countries such as Pakistan, Iran, India, and Afghanistan itself.