Tashkent Says Secured Kabul's Support For Conference Of Central-South Asia States

Afghanistan has supported Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's initiative to call a conference among states of Central and South Asia this year, Uzbekistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday

TASHKENT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2021) Afghanistan has supported Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's initiative to call a conference among states of Central and South Asia this year, Uzbekistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

The statement came following talks between Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov and his Afghan counterpart, Hanif Atmar, in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent earlier in the day.

"The Afghan side has supported that Tashkent host an international conference [titled] 'Central and South Asia: regional connectivity. Challenges and opportunities,'" the Uzbek ministry said in a press release.

The two ministers have also discussed the peace process in Afghanistan, stressing that "there is no alternative to intra-Afghan political negotiations for achieving long-term peace and national security," the press release read.

Atmar expressed appreciation of Uzbekistan's contribution to restoring Afghanistan's economic infrastructure, especially the projects linked to transport and energy, according to the press release.

Mirziyoyev first hinted about the initiative of holding a Tashkent-hosted high-level international conference on cooperation between Central and South Asia in his nationwide address in December.