Abdullah at SCO Emphasizes on Regional Cooperation, Counter-Terrorism

Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah called on participants at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit that the region needs an efficient strategy to fight against terrorism.

On behalf of Afghanistan, Abdullah on Saturday addressed the 18^th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s 2019 Council of Heads of Governments in Tashkent.

“While our commitment for pursing a just and durable peace process through dialogue will continue, our region needs to develop a more efficient joint counter-terrorism strategy as a matter of urgency in order to deal with the evolving threat of terrorism,” Abdullah said while addressing the conference.

He further called on all regional and international countries to increase their cooperation to neutralize the threats posed by terrorism.

In addition, he touched to the Afghan peace process and the presidential election that took place on September 28 across the country.

Abdullah appreciated the United States, Russia, European Union, Uzbekistan, China and other countries’ cooperation in Afghanistan’s peace process.

He said the outcome of a transparent election will lead the war-torn country toward peace and stability.

“We are making all our efforts to strengthen national consensus on peace and we hope that all regional and international stakeholders who support the [Afghan] peace process will work together in this respect,” he added.

“The prosperity of the SCO region is closely associated with peace and stability in Afghanistan. It is therefore incumbent upon us to work closely to address our common challenges in a collective and constructive manner as we seek to find a just and honorable end to war,” he concluded.