THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF TURKMENISTAN TOOK PART IN THE 3RD MEETING OF THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF THE NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES OF AFGHANISTAN

On March 31, 2022, the Third Ministerial Conference of the neighboring countries of Afghanistan was held in Tunxi, China.

At the meeting, an address by Chinese President Xi Jinping was read and a video message from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shown.

In his speech, Minister R. Meredov stressed that the current meeting is considered by Turkmenistan as an opportunity to develop a consolidated approach to ensuring peace and security in Afghanistan, and further comprehensive development of this country.

The Minister expressed confidence that the mechanism of interaction between the six countries - direct neighbors of Afghanistan in the future will give impetus to the intensification of multilateral efforts towards Afghanistan. In this context, the need for a comprehensive intensification of political, economic and humanitarian cooperation with Afghanistan was emphasized.

Of particular importance is the implementation of international infrastructure projects with the participation of Afghanistan - in energy, transport, and communications. These are projects for the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the laying of power transmission lines and fiber-optic communication from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan and the construction of new railways from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, the Turkmen Foreign Minister emphasized.

At the end of the meeting, the heads of delegations adopted the final documents. In particular, the Joint Statement of the Third Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan's Neighboring Countries and the Tunxi Initiative of Afghanistan's Neighboring Countries to Support Afghanistan's Economic Recovery and Practical Cooperation were adopted.