Tashkent wants Afghanistan’s reserves unfrozen

KABUL (Pajhwok):  The foreign minister of Uzbekistan on Tuesday called for the release of Afghanistan’s frozen foreign reserves.

Unblocking the assets would spur the economic recovery process in Afghanistan, Vladimir Norov told an international conference in Tashkent.

An independent Russian news agency quoted him as saying that freeing up the reserves would also help address acute social issues the Afghans were currently facing.

According to Interfax, Norov evinced Uzbekistan’s interest in Afghanistan’s emergence as a peaceful, independent and prosperous state.

The minister stressed: “Afghanistan should no longer pose a threat to the region’s countries and to the international community as a whole.”

Norov urged the Taliban administration to meet persistent global calls for the formation of an inclusive government and respecting the rights of women and minorities.

The execution of joint Afghan-Uzbek infrastructure projects, including the construction of a railroad linking Termez, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kabul and Peshawar and a Surkhan-Puli-Khumri power line, was important, he believed.

The two-day event on Afghanistan is being attended by delegations from more than 20 countries, including an Afghan team, led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

PAN Monitor/mud