On July 16, 2021, in Tashkent, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan took part in the fourth meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries of Central Asia and Russia.
The participants of the meeting discussed topical issues of cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and Russia in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres, conducted a “synchronization of clocks” on interaction between countries within the UN and other international regional organizations.
In accordance with the Agenda of the meeting, S. Mukhriddin informed the participants about the implementation of the International Decade for Action "Water for Sustainable Development, 2028-2028".
The heads of the foreign ministries paid special attention to the current situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and adopted a joint statement on this issue.
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Joint statement following the fourth meeting of the foreign ministers of the Central Asian countries and Russia on the situation in Afghanistan
Participants of the fourth meeting of the heads of the foreign affairs agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, held on July 16, 2021 in Tashkent, note that the current situation in Afghanistan in connection with the withdrawal of foreign troops from this country and the ensuing escalation of hostilities between government forces and the Taliban, particularly in some of the northern provinces bordering Central Asia, are of serious concern. At the same time, the ministers believe that in the new geopolitical reality, it is necessary to continue looking for opportunities to stabilize the military-political situation and establish peace in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (IRA). In this regard, the participants in the meeting call on all parties to
We are convinced that a comprehensive and sustainable peace in Afghanistan can be achieved only through direct inclusive negotiations on a political settlement between the Afghans themselves, under the leadership of the Afghan people and with more active assistance from states and international structures in the reconstruction of Afghanistan in the post-conflict period.
We look forward to holding constructive negotiations between the official Kabul and the Taliban Movement in order to develop coordinated approaches to end the long-term war and the establishment of Afghanistan as a peaceful, independent and sovereign state.
In this regard, we welcome the efforts for national reconciliation in the IRA within the framework of all dialogue platforms, incl. The Istanbul Process, taking into account the results of the 9th Ministerial Conference "Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process" (March 30, 2021, Dushanbe), the expanded "troika" (Russia, the USA, China and Pakistan) and the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan.
We emphasize the practical significance and effectiveness of the results of the Seventh Conference of Regional Economic Cooperation on Afghanistan RECCA VII (November 14-15, 2017, Ashgabat), aimed at the active integration of Afghanistan into the system of world economic relations.
We recognize the importance of continuing initiatives and steps aimed at promoting the restoration of the socio-economic structure of the IRA and the integration of this country into regional economic processes in accordance with the common approaches developed at the Tashkent conference on Afghanistan "Peace process, security cooperation and regional interaction" (27 March 2018).
We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, the victims of which are civilians. The continued presence and activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, and other international terrorist groups are one of the key components of the instability of the situation in the IRA, including in a number of northern provinces of the country.
We are concerned about the expansion of drug crops, the high level of drug production and illegal arms trafficking in Afghanistan, which is one of the main sources of income for terrorist groups, and we expect the IRA authorities to intensify efforts to combat this threat.
We acknowledge the efforts of the United Nations to assist the government and people of the IRA and declare our support for the activities of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the United Nations Secretary General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, and the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia.
We welcome the holding on July 14, 2021 in Dushanbe of the first meeting of the foreign ministers of the SCO member states and Afghanistan in the format of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, we will continue the consistent implementation of the Roadmap for further actions of the Contact Group, signed at the end of the SCO summit on June 14 2019 in Bishkek.
Source: Ministry of foreign affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan