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Central Asia and Afghanistan are key security concerns for CSTO: Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday that security risks in Central Asia and developments in Afghanistan are among the primary concerns for the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
The CSTO is a regional military alliance that includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Speaking in Moscow during a meeting with CSTO Secretary-General Taalatbek Masadykov, Lavrov described the region’s security challenges as “central” to the organization’s agenda.
“The problems that are currently among the central ones for the CSTO are new challenges and threats. I am referring to the situation in the Central Asian region of collective security, as well as everything related to what is happening in Afghanistan,” he said.
He praised Masadykov as “one of the leading experts” on Central Asian security, noting that his experience could enhance coordination and increase the effectiveness of allied actions.
Similar to NATO, the CSTO considers an attack on one member state as an attack on all.
Countries in the region have always expressed concern about security threats from Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has dismissed these concerns and assured that it will not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used against another country.
A 13-member delegation of Afghan traders and industrialists has departed for Iran to strengthen trade and economic ties between the two countries.
The delegation is visiting Iran at the official invitation of the Iran-Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and in coordination with the Afghanistan-Iran Joint Chamber of Commerce.
During the visit, the delegation is scheduled to meet with Iranian economic officials, attend bilateral trade meetings and visit industrial centers across the country.
The visit will also focus on exploring new investment opportunities, expanding joint ventures, exchanging expertise and identifying ways to strengthen economic cooperation between the private sectors of Afghanistan and Iran.
France is holding technical discussions with Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan authorities to facilitate the return of Afghan nationals living in the country without legal immigration status, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has confirmed.
Speaking before the French parliament on Monday, Nunez said Paris was seeking arrangements to return a number of Afghans who are in an irregular immigration situation.
“We are trying to obtain the possibility to return a certain number of Afghans who are in an irregular situation. These are technical discussions,” Nunez told lawmakers, adding that other European countries, including Germany, were pursuing similar arrangements.
The French minister said some Afghan nationals could pose threats to public order and described their deportation as a priority for the government.
According to AFP, France had already begun discussions with IEA authorities in early October to facilitate the deportation of Afghan nationals.
Although France does not officially recognise the Islamic Emirate administration or maintain diplomatic relations with it, Paris has joined around 20 European Union countries, including Germany, Belgium and Sweden, in efforts to accelerate the return of Afghan nationals, particularly those convicted of criminal offences.
However, the discussions have drawn criticism from some French lawmakers and human rights groups.
Lea Balage El Mariky, a lawmaker from the Ecologists party, accused the French government of moving towards normalising relations with an IEA she criticised over restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, a meeting held in Brussels in June between a IEA delegation and representatives from 15 EU countries also faced criticism from human rights organisations and left-wing European lawmakers. The discussions focused on irregular migration and increasing deportations.
In September, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern over what he described as international silence surrounding Afghanistan’s worsening human rights and humanitarian situation, calling for an end to forced returns.
A coordination meeting on economic cooperation between Afghanistan and the Russian Federation was held in Kabul under the chairmanship of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs said that the Ministry of Finance presented a report on the latest meeting of the Afghanistan-Russia Joint Economic Commission.
According to the statement, a plan to advance the commission’s work has been prepared and submitted to the office of the leader of the Islamic Emirate for final approval. It added that an economic cooperation document, prepared with the Russian side on the sidelines of the recent
Kazan Forum in Tatarstan, has been finalized and is expected to be signed with the Russian Federation in the near future.
The meeting also discussed ways to implement the decisions of the latest session of the Joint Economic Commission, as well as investment opportunities and priorities in infrastructure, trade, electricity, transport, mining, higher education, agriculture, irrigation, livestock, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, business visa issuance, telecommunications and information technology.
Participants also reviewed and identified investment opportunities and priorities in these sectors.
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