Jakarta. At the upcoming SCO summit in Samarkand, one of the key topics could be the restoration of the Afghan economy.

After the sudden complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, the role and importance of the SCO in normalizing the situation in that country increased significantly.

In this regard, the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, to hold regular high-level meetings in the SCO-Afghanistan format with the involvement of the Organization's observer states: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, as well as international organizations in the dialogue, is of particular relevance.

The effectiveness of this format is proved by the international conference held in Tashkent in July 2022 on the topic “Afghanistan: security and economic development”, which was attended by delegations from more than twenty foreign countries and international structures.

The conference demonstrated the openness of Uzbekistan's foreign policy and the relevance of resolving the issue of restoring the historical interconnectedness of the regions of Central and South Asia.

One of the large-scale projects that contribute to the revival of the Afghan economy, the development of trade between a significant number of states of the West and the East, and the change in the geopolitical landscape of the region as a whole could be the construction of the Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway with access to the Pakistani port of Gwadar.  President Mirziyoyev voiced this idea.

The “Tashkent platform” has already proved its effectiveness and can further become a platform for negotiations and discussions of key groups of issues in Afghanistan, such as security, prevention of threats of extremism and terrorism, the creation of an inclusive government, ensuring human rights and freedoms, socio-economic recovery, implementation infrastructure, humanitarian projects.

The further development of the situation in this country, its return to modern world economic relations and international relations, and stability in the region will depend on finding mutually acceptable solutions to these issues, primarily by the SCO member states.