Uzbekistan and Afghanistan have come forward with a joint initiative to hold an international ministerial conference titled "Afghanistan – path to a peaceful future" in Tashkent in late March 2018, Trend news agency reported.
"The choice in favor of the peace process remains the only solution to the ongoing confrontation for all intra-Afghan forces. Time shows that a direct dialogue between the central government and the main domestic political forces must take place without preconditions, with the predominant role of the Afghans themselves and with the active involvement of the UN,"Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov said.
According to the Uzbekistan news agency, Kamilov said peace in Afghanistan will bring tangible benefits to all countries of the Eurasian continent - promoting the construction of roads and railways, laying of pipelines, and developing regional and trans-regional trade in all directions.
The Tashkent meeting would become a logical continuation of the second meeting of the "Kabul Process", scheduled for late February, and consolidate the results achieved within the framework of the common international efforts at various levels, according to Kamilov.
He stressed that holding a high-level forum in Tashkent should demonstrate that the "Afghan problem" will not remain in modern history as a precedent of the helplessness and indifference of the world community in countering the challenges and threats common to all mankind.
"We see the main goals of the multilateral meeting in Tashkent in agreeing the basic principles of the peaceful settlement in Afghanistan, elaborating a mechanism for "launching" negotiations between the government of Afghanistan and the armed opposition, as well as coordinating international joint actions to support this process," he said.
Trend news agency reported that on the outcomes of the conference, it is planned to adopt the Tashkent Declaration, which will define the basic principles and conditions for a peaceful settlement, specify the obligations of the Afghan government and the armed opposition, as well as the international community in terms of “launching” the negotiation process and its support.