56th #MunichSecurityConference: #Tokayev addresses #Afghan problem.

Between February 14 and 16, more than 500 high-ranking international decision-makers are coming together for the 56th Munich Security Conference chaired by Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger. The representatives from politics, business, science and civil society will discuss current crises and future security challenges in Munich.

A total of over 35 heads of state and government and over 100 foreign and defence ministers are expected at the conference. You will find an updated preliminary list of high-ranking participants

Key amongst these is the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who addressed the conference on the subject of the resolution of the Afghan problem.

“Kazakhstan supports effective cooperation formats with the participation of Afghanistan, including such authoritative platforms as CICA, SCO, Istanbul Process, CAREC and RECCA forums and other programmes (TIFA, SPECA).”  President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told the conference.

“Our country is also continuing to implement an educational programme worth $50 million for more than a thousand Afghan students.

To improve communication on all these issues, a Special Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Afghanistan will be appointed soon.

We closely monitor the processes of domestic reconciliation in Afghanistan and hope for a responsible US withdrawal from this country without a power vacuum. Sustainable development in Afghanistan will be enhanced by strengthening economic relations with Central Asia, in a way that the region could “export stability” to this country. Another example of successful cooperation and a contribution to regional and global security was Operation Zhusan, where with the logistical support from the United States, Kazakhstan brought back more than 500 of its citizens, mainly women and children, from Syria.

Now we face a more complex and long-term task to rehabilitate these citizens. We will cooperate with the United States and the global community in this direction. During Kazakhstan’s membership in the UN Security Council in 2017-2018, our country defended the common interests of Central Asia, promoting issues that are of particular relevance to the successful and safe development of our region. Among them are issues of combating terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking and organized crime, illegal migration, as well as ensuring border security and the promotion of the Central Asian zone free from nuclear weapons.”

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