Abdulaziz Kamilov: The less the threats in Afghanistan, the lower our costs for national security will be

“Xalq suzi” correspondent had an interview with the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov about Uzbekistan’s views on the main aspects of the political solution to the Afghan problem and the Republic’s contribution to regional security.

“The President of Uzbekistan has repeatedly stated that Afghanistan’s security is the security of Uzbekistan. In our policy, we are striving to achieve peace in the neighboring country, to end terrorism, fanaticism and violence.

At the same time, ensuring peace in Afghanistan is not just about solving security problems.

In the case of Afghanistan, we do not rely on the defensive approach. We are sure we have a good grasp of the situation in our region, so we will not attempt to take part in any “zero-sum games” where one of the players wins and the other one loses. We are pragmatic and want to be a good neighbor.

Our peoples have been living in harmony for over 3,000 years, the boundaries that separate us were drawn up only 100 years ago.

The frontiers set along the Amu Darya have never been a barrier to communication, commerce, and exchange of our cultures and religions.

Peaceful Afghanistan is capable of providing maritime communications through the shortest route to Central Asia, diversifying our transport corridors, and thus opening up broad markets for exporting domestic goods.

Helping Afghanistan get involved in regional economic cooperation is important, and that is what Tashkent really wants. In addition, it should be understood that the less the threats in Afghanistan, the lower our costs for national security. We can use the saved money to resolve socio-economic issues and improve the quality of life standards of our citizens,” Abdulaziz Kamilov said.