President of Uzbekistan calls to develop reliable mechanisms of cooperation in Central Asia at the international conference in Samarkand

On 10 November, 2017, high level officials of the UN, EU, OSCE, SCO, CIS, ministers of foreign affairs and delegations of Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, USA, European states, Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea and others, as well as scientists, public figures, and Mass Media gathered together in Samarkand, the historical city of Uzbekistan aiming to discuss economic, ecological, cultural, and security issues faced by Central Asia at the international conference on Ensuring Security and Sustainable Development in Central Asia under the auspices of the United Nations "Central Asia: one past and a common future, cooperation for sustainable development and mutual prosperity" initiated by the President of Uzbekistan, H.E. Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev.  

The forum has been organized by Uzbekistan in cooperation with the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) and the UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia.

While delivering his speech to the authoritative participants of the conference, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan emphasized that " all the states of the region are equally facing the threats of terrorism, extremism, transnational organized crime and drug trafficking. The most effective counter action to these threats would be a jointly established reliable mechanism of regional cooperation".

President Mirziyoyev emphasized that Uzbekistan " strongly believes in importance of adherence to the principle of "indivisibility of security" in the region, and an important role in solving the problem of regional security, especially in the context of effective use of preventive diplomacy instruments, plays the United Nations".

" The priority direction of ensuring stability and sustainable development in Central Asia is to counteract extremist ideology that negatively influences young people entering life.

Central Asia is one of the "youngest" regions in terms of the age composition of the population: young people make up about 60 percent, which exceeds the world average indicators.

That is why at the recent session of the UN General Assembly in New York Uzbekistan came up with the initiatives on the development of the Convention on the Rights of Youth and the adoption of a special resolution "Education and Tolerance", - said H.E. Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the President of Uzbekistan.

The high-level participants emphasized that the security of Central Asia is inseparable from global security. It was especially pointed out that in order to prevent new challenges and threats, Central Asian countries require closer and more coordinated cooperation as well as interaction with international and regional organizations and partner states.

Participants underscored that Central Asia, located at the crossroads of the ancient routes between East and West along "The Great Silk Road", and developments in the region affect the stability of the entire Eurasian continent.

In this context, it was pointed out that in the prevailing conditions, Central Asian states play a significant role in addressing contemporary issues, related to enhancing international security. Among them are: countering the threats of terrorism and extremism, measures aimed at tackling illicit drug trafficking, illegal arms trade, organized crime, human trafficking, preventing threats in the information sphere.

Taking into account the importance of the topic, the security issues were discussed at the separate sectional sessions covering the development of the regional cooperation in Central Asia and promotion of the international community.