Uzbekistan president voices concern over Afghanistan situation

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Friday expressed concern over the situation in Afghanistan, and called for regular dialogue between regional countries to address the issue.

Speaking at the 9th summit of Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, he voiced concern over the deteriorating security situation in the world, pointing out that Uzbekistan neighbors one of the most conflict-torn countries in the world — Afghanistan.

“Of course, we are all seriously concerned about the situation in neighboring Afghanistan today. … We advocate for a regular dialogue between the foreign ministers of the organization’s member countries in order to develop common approaches to the Afghan issue,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, former president of Turkmenistan said Turkic states should move to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

The OTS is an interstate bloc, established with the aim of expanding cooperation between Turkish-speaking countries in the fields of politics, economics, science, education, transport, and tourism.

The members of the organization are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Hungary and Turkmenistan have observer status in the organization.