Afghan people need good neighbors and their support now more than ever – Mirziyoyev

“All SCO member states are our closest neighbors, friends and strategic partners.

The Chairmanship has given us a good opportunity to further strengthen multilateral collaboration and expand bilateral cooperation with each of them, as well as set new targets for even deeper partnership. 

I am full of confidence that it is important and necessary for the SCO to share its success story with Afghanistan. This country is an integral part of the larger SCO space. The Afghan people need good neighbors and their support now more than ever. It is our moral obligation to extend a helping hand, to offer them effective ways of overcoming the years-long crisis by promoting socio-economic growth of the country, its integration into regional and global development processes,” the president said. 

According to Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Afghanistan, which has played for centuries the role of a buffer in the historical confrontations of global and regional powers, should try on a new peaceful mission of connecting Central and South Asia.

“The construction of the trans-Afghan corridor could become a symbol of such mutually beneficial inter-regional cooperation. It is also important to understand that by implementing joint infrastructure projects such as the Termez – Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar railroad we are not just solving socio-economic, transport and communication problems, but also making a significant contribution to ensuring regional security.

By bringing our positions closer to each other, together we can develop a new SCO agenda for a more peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. Only in this way can we create a truly stable and sustainable SCO space with indivisible security,” the president said.