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socio-political or economic shocks and the weakening of state power, the forces, dissatisfied with the current regime, can be mobilized through the U.S. network of NGO: participants in educational programs (several thousand), and representatives of clan structures, which have now been ousted from power.
"Tsentralnaya Aziya: problemy i perspektivy (vzglyad iz Rossii i Kitaya, " Moscow, 2013, pp. 65-67.
B. Ergashev,
Research Coordinator, Center for Economic
Research, Tashkent, Uzbekistan UZBEKISTAN'S POLICY TOWARD AFGHANISTAN AND REGIONAL SECURITY IN CENTRAL ASIA
1. Threats to security of the countries of Central Asia, i.e. the spreading of terrorism, religious fundamentalism, drug trafficking from Afghanistan, etc. are long-term developments. The impact of these threats on countries of the region differs (at least, due to geographical factors), hence, these countries have different views on the situation in Afghanistan and, accordingly, the Afghan problem is a special subject among their foreign-policy priorities.
2. Uzbekistan is one of the key actors among Afghanistan's neighbors due to geographical, geopolitical and geo-economic factors. And Uzbekistan has actively participated in the elaboration of political and economic decisions aimed at resolving the conflict in Afghanistan.
3. In July 2012, the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan discussed and approved the Concept of Foreign Policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, put forward by the President, which determined its foreign policy strategy for a medium and long-term period. The document states that the Central Asian region is a top priority of the foreign policy activity
of Uzbekistan and its vital interests are connected with it. According to this document, the problems of Central Asia should be solved by the states of the region without intervention of external forces.
4. The Concept of Foreign Policy of Uzbekistan represents the quintessence of previous approaches and experiences (both positive and negative) in solving security problems in the region.
5. Uzbekistan's foreign policy, including the settlement of the situation in Afghanistan, is based on the following principles:
- an open, friendly and pragmatic policy in relation to its nearest neighbors;
- assistance to the settlement of the situation in Afghanistan, based on the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs;
- adoption of political, economic and other measures to prevent involvement in armed conflicts and seats of tension in the neighboring countries, and a ban on the deployment of foreign military bases on their territory;
- integration should not be imposed from the outside, it is unacceptable if infringes upon freedom, independence or territorial integrity of a country or is dictated by ideological commitments;
Uzbekistan reserves the right to conclude alliances, join communities of countries or other interstate organizations, and withdraw from them in the interests of the state, the people and their well-being and safety.
6. Initially, the position of Uzbekistan has been based on two fundamental principles for a solution of the Afghan conflict: 1) recognition of the fact that a settlement can not be reached through military action, and 2) greater role and importance of the economic component of the program to resolve the conflict and restore Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan has been acting in two interrelated directions consistently: through participation in economic projects, and by diplomatic activity to join efforts of neighboring countries of Afghanistan, and the U.S.A. / NATO, China and Russia.
7. In the 1990s the situation in Afghanistan called for coordinated international cooperation at a diplomatic level to improve the dialogue between the warring factions. In 1997, the "6 + 2" format, that is, the six neighboring countries (Pakistan, Iran, China, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) plus the two guarantor states - Russia and the U.S.A. began to act on an initiative of Uzbekistan and under the auspices of the UN. The Tashkent Declaration on the fundamental principles of peaceful solution of the conflict in Afghanistan was signed on July 21, 1999.
8. In 2008, Uzbekistan proposed to form a "6 + 3" Contact Group, which was supposed to include Russia, the U.S.A. and NATO, according to the existing historical realities, along with the countries bordering on Afghanistan - Pakistan, Iran, China, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Its aim was to unite efforts to find the best solution for reaching peace and stability in Afghanistan, because the use of military methods would only aggravate the situation, without solving the socio-economic issues. Supervision and coordination of the work of the Contact Group was supposed to be entrusted to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan. It also differs from the format of "6 + 2" so that neither any representatives of power structures, nor warring groups in Afghanistan have been included in the negotiation process. However, this initiative has received no support.
9. The key idea of Uzbekistan in the Afghan settlement has always been a reduction of the military component and more attention to the issues of economic recovery, which would improve the general
situation in Afghanistan. Economic assistance to Afghanistan should be a priority for Uzbekistan. Over the past few years, Uzbekistan has accumulated substantial experience in realization of joint projects in the sphere of energy, road construction and repair, railway construction, mining, education, and also in exchange of experts with Afghanistan. Trade has been expanded significantly between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan in recent years.
10. Uzbekistan has cooperated with Afghanistan in the economic sphere since 2002. Uzbekistan has built eleven bridges on the Mazar-i-Sharif to Kabul stretch within the framework of the reconstruction program and, in addition, it completed the construction of a highvoltage transmission line passing through five provinces of Afghanistan and stretching for about 442 kilometers from Kabul toward the border of Uzbekistan. The power line will be connected to the energy system of Uzbekistan through a 43-kilometer-long transmission line from the Suruhan substation (Uzbekistan) to Hairaton substation (Afghanistan). The cost of the project is more than $198 million.
11. The Joint Stock Company "Uzbektelecom" and the Afghan Telecom Corp. have signed an inter-operator agreement for cooperation in providing services in the construction of a fiber-optic line that will connect the two states. In 2009, a line with a capacity of 2.5 Gb/s was commissioned, which provides a direct link between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan and also international telephone calls to the CIS countries and abroad, as well as access to the Internet.
12. One of the major problems hindering the progress of the Afghan economy as a whole, and the growth of production in the country in particular, is the lack of the infrastructure - transport and communications, networks of water and energy supply, etc. Thus, the project of railway construction on Afghan territory is extremely important. In 2009-2010, the state railway company of Uzbekistan
implemented the construction project of the Haraton-Mazar-i-Sharif 75-kilometer-long railway line with the cost of $129 million. It is planned to build a railroad along the route of Mazar-i-Sharif - Kabul -Kandahar - Herat and back, with a total length of 2,000 kilometers, and the total cost of the project will be about $3 billion. It will be an analogue of the trans-Afghan transport corridor from Europe to India, China, Iran and Pakistan.
13. After the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001, Afghanistan's reconstruction program has started with the support of donor countries and international financial institutions.
14. Nowadays all countries participating in the settlement process, realize the futility of the anti-terrorist campaign within the existing framework. Despite the measures to ensure security, stability and development of Afghanistan, which have been taken by the international community and the United States, the situation has not improved.
15. Over a period of ten years, Afghanistan has failed to solve the problem of security, form an efficient government, and create conditions for sustainable economic growth. The gradual withdrawal of troops of the Western coalition could become a catalyst of destabilization processes both in Afghanistan and in Central Asia.
16. Based on the issues to resolve the situation in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan's foreign policy in this field will focus on:
- greater efforts to establish a dialogue with Afghanistan (with all its political forces), the neighboring countries and the power centers that are interested in maintaining Afghan statehood;
- reliance on bilateral formats, rather than multilateral ones, which turned out to be ineffective in dealing with the Afghan conflict;
- every assistance to resolving socio-economic problems of Afghanistan, support to projects aimed at creating and developing a
viable economy in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan has accumulated significant experience in the implementation of reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, so it could initiate realization of some, which are important to the social and economic development of Afghanistan.
'Vyzovy bezopasnosti v Tsentralnoi Azii," Moscow, 2013, pp. 96-99.
A. Umnov,
Cand. Sc. (Hist.), senior research associate (IMEMO)
AFGHANISTAN: WHAT'S NEXT
Perhaps, the year 2014 will be decisive for the future of Afghanistan. The planned withdrawal of the military forces from there raises the question of the fate of the Karzai government. Whether it can successfully resist the pressure of the Taliban, relying on its own strength, or it will reach a compromise with them, and on what conditions... Solution of these problems is important not only for Afghanistan, but for Central and South Asia, and partially for the Caucasus. The extremist forces of these countries, including international terrorists, are allies of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Will this alliance continue to exist in case of the Taliban's victory? Will the Taliban continue to help their allies after taking power or sharing it with Karzai or his successor?
The territories of modern Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and partially Kazakhstan were part of the Emirate of Bokhara, and the Khiva and Kokand khanates in the past. In the first case, the ethnic base of the Emirate served as the supra-ethnic communications between different clans of Uzbeks and Tajiks, in the second - the Uzbeks and Turkmen, and in the third - the Uzbeks and Kyrgyzs. Islam was the ideological force sanctioning each union. The
