President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has underscored Afghanistan’s continued importance in regional cooperation, saying the country remains one of the key areas of interaction among regional partners.

Addressing the first summit of the “Central Asia Plus Japan” dialogue, Mirziyoyev said participating countries share a common aspiration to see Afghanistan become peaceful, stable, and oriented toward meaningful development.

The Uzbek president praised Japan’s longstanding and consistent support for Afghanistan, noting that Tokyo has for many years been among the leading donors and partners assisting the Afghan people.

He expressed confidence that coordinated efforts and joint contributions by regional countries and Japan would help improve living standards in Afghanistan, advance socio-economic and infrastructure development, and facilitate the country’s active involvement in regional economic projects.

The Embassy of Japan in Afghanistan announced on Friday that the country has allocated $19.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

In a statement, the Japanese Embassy said it hopes the aid will help bring positive change to the lives of vulnerable Afghans.

According to the statement, the assistance will cover the basic humanitarian needs of vulnerable communities in Afghanistan.

The embassy added that the aid will be delivered through United Nations agencies, international organizations, and Japanese non-governmental organizations operating in Afghanistan.

Japan’s total assistance to Afghanistan since August 2021 has reached more than $549 million.

Security forces at the Islam Qala border in Herat province prevented hundreds of young Afghans from illegally entering Iran.

Officials from the 207 Al-Farooq Army Corps said that around 530 people attempted over the past two days to illegally enter Iranian territory through areas of Kohsan district in Herat, but border forces detained them and transferred them back to their original areas.

Meanwhile, officials in the local administration of Herat said that due to severe cold along the illegal migration route to Iran, three Afghan migrants have lost their lives in the Kohsan district of the province, and a shepherd has also died there for the same reason.

Mohammad Yousuf Saeedi, spokesperson for the Herat governor’s office, said that some statistics and images shared on social media regarding the incident are not reliable.

According to him, further investigations are underway to determine whether any individuals have died on the other side of the border.