Uzbekistan Says Ready to Host Kabul-Taliban Talks

President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday met with visiting Uzbekistan delegation in Kabul and discussed the peace process, regional connectivity, infrastructure projects, trade, transit, regional issues and expansion of economic ties.

The Presidential Palace in a statement said that the Uzbekistani delegation was led by the country’s National Security Advisor Viktor Muhammadov and Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov.

During the visit, the Uzbekistani delegation announced the country’s support to the government’s plans regarding the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process.

According to the statement, the visiting delegation said that Uzbekistan was ready to host peace negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban in Samarkand.

Hailing Uzbekistan’s “positive” role in all aspects particularly in implementing the economic and infrastructure projects between Kabul and Tashkent,  President Ghani said that there is “serious” focus on increasing mutual regional cooperation which brings stability to the region.

The president also thanked Uzbekistan for offering Samarkand as a possible venue of peace talks. He said Samarkand is a shared mutual cultural heritage of the two countries.

The Uzbekistan delegation was also expected to sign cooperation agreements on mining, textiles, exchange of information on customs and security issues with relevant Afghan authorities.

By: Ahmad Zubair Habibzada