India on Monday participated in a two-day conference organized by Uzbekistan in its capital Tashkent to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
Attended by about 20 countries, India was represented at the conference by the joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, in charge of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, J P Singh.
Sources said Afghanistan’s caretaker foreign minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaki is attending a conference titled ‘Afghanistan: Security and Economic Development.
Last week, Uzbekistan said that the meeting aims to develop a set of measures and proposals for the world community’s approach to promoting stability, security, and post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan.
It said representatives from many parts of the world, including Central and South Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, are participating in the discussions to find a solution to the Afghan issue.
“The purpose of the conference is to develop a set of measures and proposals to approach the world community to promote stability, security, post-conflict reconstruction and its integration into regional cooperation processes in Afghanistan,” it said in a statement.
It said that the objectives of the conference include creating a common position by the world community in combating terrorism and ensuring constructive dialogue between the current government in Kabul and the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan.
“Our country remains committed to the establishment of lasting peace in neighbouring Afghanistan and considers this process an important condition for achieving sustainable development in the Central Asian region,” a statement from the Uzbek government said.
India is in touch with several major powers on the situation in Afghanistan.
Last month, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a “technical team” at its embassy in the Afghan capital.
In the last few months, India has sent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
In November last year, India hosted a regional dialogue on the country’s situation in which the NSAs of Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan participated.
