DUSHANBE, March 26, 2009, Asia-Plus — Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi has departed for Moscow today morning to attend a special three-day conference on Afghanistan that will open there tomorrow, according to the MFA information department.
The conference, organized by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), aims to discuss issues related to fight against terrorism, illicit drug trafficking, and organized crime. The conference is expected to result in adoption of a plan of actions and a joint statement by member nations of the SCO and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan regarding the mentioned matters.
India, Pakistan, Iran, Mongolia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, G8 countries, the United Nations and Afghanistan have been invited to this conference, which was initiated by Russia during President Medvedev’s visit to Tashkent.
During his stay in Moscow, Zarifi is scheduled to hold talks with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and representatives of delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Russia’s news agency Interfax cited Russian MFA spokesman Andrey Nesterenko as saying on March 19 that the conference on Afghanistan sponsored by the SCO is not a rival to any other international formats. “The SCO does not plan to compete with other international efforts in the Afghan area with this conference,” he remarked. Moscow hopes that the conference will discuss all aspects of the Afghan settlement process, Nesterenko said. The Hague will host a UN-sponsored conference on Afghanistan initiated by the United States several days later, he said, adding, “Russia has been officially invited to that meeting.” Nesterenko welcomed the invitation of Iran to the UN-sponsored conference.
