The press center of the Foreign ministry of Uzbekistan says the Second Ministerial Conference “Italy – Central Asia” on the C5+1 format took place in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent on December 8 under the chairmanship of Uzbekistan.
The event was reportedly attended by the Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tleuberdi, Kyrgyzstan – Ruslan Kazakbayev, Tajikistan – Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Uzbekistan – Abdulaziz Kamilov, Italy – Luigi Di Maio, and Special Representative of the European Union for Central Asia Terhi Hakala. Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov took part in the event via videoconference.
The delegations discussed the current state and prospects of interaction between the countries of Central Asia and Italy, noted the importance of joint response to modern challenges and threats. The ways of solving environmental problems in the region, preventing transnational threats of extremism and terrorism, as well as strengthening interethnic harmony, friendly and fraternal ties of peoples are analyzed.
Speaking at the conference, Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov called on the international community to lift sanctions on Afghanistan and unfreeze the assets of this country in international banks.
At the same time, he noted that Afghan people found themselves in a very difficult situation and the humanitarian situation in the country was close to catastrophic.
“It is in our power to provide effective assistance to the Afghan people. It is necessary to provide a humanitarian corridor in order to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. We also call on the international community to take measures to lift sanctions on Afghanistan, unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets in international banks and provide support for the reconstruction of the banking system of this country,” Uzbek foreign minister said.
“There is new power, interim government led by the Taliban movement, which strives to gain recognition from the world community. We believe that in the current realities it is necessary to conduct a constructive dialogue with the new authorities of Afghanistan in order to avoid the re-transformation of this long-suffering country into a "rogue state.” Therefore, Uzbekistan was among the first to welcome the creation of the interim government in Afghanistan in the hope of its successful functioning for the good of multinational Afghan society,” Kamilov noted.
He also stressed that the key issue was to develop a post-conflict strategy for Afghanistan.
Within the framework of the conference, a roundtable was organized on the topic: "The current state and prospects for the development of scientific cooperation between Central Asia and Italy", which was attended by leading Central Asian and Italian experts. The participants studied conceptual models of regional governance, sustainable and inclusive development, issues of protection and promotion of cultural heritage, activation of scientific and academic contacts.
