May 26, 2008

The Foundation for Regional Policy of Uzbekistan (FRP) and the Center for Political Studies (CPS), Uzbekistan with support from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), USAID and Institute for New Democracies (IND) organized the international conference “Problems of ensuring security and sustainable development in Central Asia” in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from29 April – 4 May 2008:

Experts from over 24 countries discussed the current security situation, challenges and threats in Central Asia. The discussions explored critical links between sustainable security in Central Asia and the issues in Afghanistan with a realization that not all opportunities were being explored in bringing peace to Afghanistan.Dr. Najeeb ur Rahman Manalai, Associate Research Fellow at CAPS, presented an Afghan perspective on “the current challenges in Afghanistan and its influence on Central Asia”.

Among the issues discussed in the conference with regard to initiativesfor stabilizing Afghanistan, the new initiative that was proposed by the President of Uzbekistan, IslamKarimov, in the NATO summit in Bucharest received special attention. The proposed initiative focused on the establishment of “6+3” contact group for promotion of peace and stability in Afghanistan andit engaged the participants in concrete discussions. The “6+3” contact groups would comprise of six neighboring countries of Afghanistan: China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan plus USA, Russia and NATO.

The conference provided a unique opportunity of sharing of responsibilities in stabilizing the region. The participants suggested holding a follow up-gathering at the end of 2008.