BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 28
By Ilkin Seyfaddini – Trend:
We all understand that reducing conflict in Afghanistan is a herculean task, but Uzbekistan has moved not shied away from that goal, OSCE Project Co-Ordinator in Uzbekistan, Ambassador John MacGregor told Trend in an interview.
“Noting that Uzbekistan is the only Central Asia state that directly borders all others, the development of good neighborly relations by Uzbekistan has included Afghanistan. Uzbekistan has undertaken a number of initiatives to further the goal of peace in Afghanistan, by hosting or otherwise creating opportunities for dialogue among all parties involved in the conflicts in Afghanistan,” said ambassador MacGregor.
In terms of direct support, Uzbekistan has established an educational center for Afghan students in Termez, on the north side of the Amudarya River, and close to the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. This center provides courses in agriculture, applied sciences, and mining for Afghan students, particularly women.
“Moreover Uzbekistan provides resources such as electrical power to Afghanistan and is currently contributing to the upgrading the power transmission lines serving Kabul. Uzbekistan is also upgrading the railway connecting Uzbekistan with Mazar-i-Sharif and is part of a consortium seeking to build a railway from Mazar-i-Sharif westward to connect with the current railhead at Herat, thus providing a new link from Central Asia to Iran and westward through Azerbaijan to Europe,” stated MacGregor.
He also noted that contributing to the economic development of Afghanistan helps to increase security and stability, thus Uzbekistan is showing a very practical way of helping resolve the underlying reasons for conflict.
John MacGregor believes that this, in turn, can contribute to lowering the security concerns and transnational threats across Central Asia.
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