Uzbekistan calls for unfreezing Afghan financial assets abroad
TASHKENT. July 26 (Interfax) - Steps to unfreeze Afghan financial assets abroad will become one of the major factors of economic recovery in Afghanistan, acting Uzbek Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov said.
"Unfreezing Afghanistan's financial assets abroad is one of the main factors of restoring the economy of Afghanistan, of tackling acute social issues currently facing the people of this country, which is friendly to us, and of implementing important infrastructure projects," Norov said when addressing the participants in the "Afghanistan: Security and Economic Development" international conference, which is taking place in Tashkent on Tuesday.
Norov underscored Uzbekistan's interest in Afghanistan developing as a peaceful, independent and prosperous state.
"The land of Afghanistan should no longer pose a threat to the region's countries and to the international community as a whole," he said.
Uzbekistan's firm position is that "in the foreseeable future, Afghanistan will continue acting as a key regional security factor, directly impacting the national interests of regional countries, above all, and of adjoining states," he said.
Norov also reiterated the importance for the interim Afghan government to fulfill the international community's main demands to form an inclusive government and to uphold the rights of women and national minorities.
Furthermore, it is important to implement joint infrastructure projects with Afghanistan, Norov said, underscoring the significance of continuing joint efforts with the Afghan side to pursue projects in Afghan territory such as the construction of a railway to link Termez, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kabul, and Peshawar and a Surkhan-Puli-Khumri power line.
"Not only will the implementation of the aforementioned projects contribute to Afghanistan's transformation into a bridge between Central and South Asia, but will also facilitate the further development of the overall regional interconnectivity process in the interests and for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan," Norov said.
The Tashkent-hosted international conference on Afghanistan is being attended by delegations from more than 20 countries, including a high-ranking governmental delegation, led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (as the Taliban has named its government in Afghanistan).
According to the Uzbek Foreign Ministry, the main goal of the conference is to work out a set of measures and proposals accompanying the international community's approaches toward facilitating stability, security and post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan and its integration into regional cooperation processes in the interests of the Afghan people and the whole world.