TASHKENT. July 4 (Interfax) - Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has called for resuming work of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana.
"I am sure that dialogue with Kabul meets the interests of security and economic development of the entire region. Therefore, the proposal to resume work of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group remains relevant," Mirziyoyev said.
The speech was published on the presidential website.
As to the need for further close coordination between agencies of SCO member states in countering contemporary security threats and challenges, Mirziyoyev commented on the state of affairs in Afghanistan and different approaches to developing relations with the incumbent Afghan authorities. Yet he described Afghanistan as an integral part of Central Asia "directly influencing regional stability."
"An increasing number of countries begin to realize that," he said.