From March 25-27, delegations from across the region and around the world will gather in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, to discuss peace in Afghanistan.
Co-hosted by the Afghan government, the conference follows countless other efforts to breathe life into the peace process in Afghanistan.
The official conference is set to kick off on March 26. Though on March 25, foreign ministers from five Central Asian states will meet with Afghan officials, a variation on the C5+1 concept.
The conference will be attended by the Central Asian foreign ministers and diplomatic representatives from the United Nations, United States, Russia, China, the European Union, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Afghanistan’s High Peace Council (HPC) has remains hopeful about a positive result of the conference.
In the conference, the Afghan delegate will share its views on how to remove obstacles from the way of peace process, HPC spokesman Sayed Ehsan Taheri told TOLOnews on Saturday.
“Afghanistan’s peace is included in the agenda of the Tashkent conference besides other issues including counterterrorism, drugs and human smuggling,” Taheri said.
Some Afghan MPs meanwhile stressed the need for direct talks between Afghan government and the Taliban to achieve success in the peace process.
“For Afghanistan’s peace, the better option is to talk with the Taliban and house them in the country instead of talking with other countries,” said Amir Khan Yar, the second deputy speaker of Afghan parliament.
Continuation of war and violence in Afghanistan, especially in north and north-eastern parts of the country has concerned countries in the region, said Mohammad Akbari, an MP.
“Uzbekistan is worried about the ongoing war in Afghanistan,” he added.
“Afghanistan’s representatives in the conference should seriously speak on terrorism in the country to make sure the issue is taken serious,” said Juma Din Keyanwal, a lawmaker.
Analysts say Uzbekistan can play a key role in the Afghan peace process as an important country in the region. President Ghani during his trip to Tashkent last year in October, signed many agreements with Uzbekistan in different areas including security.