Uzbekistan’s efforts to bring global attention to international security issues has boosted its leadership role
in the region.
Tashkent hosted a high-profile international conference dedicated to implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in early March 2022. The conference brought together leaders from Central Asia, South Asia and Europe, and was an important step toward strengthening regional cooperation to fight terrorism.
The highlight of the conference was when Central Asian countries agreed to jointly combat terrorism by committing to the Tashkent Declaration and the Joint Plan of Action. Signatories included delegates from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
These documents define steps to address terrorism and serious threats to international peace and security. Joining the conference through video, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres praised Central Asian countries for their commitment to a safer world.
A week later at a meeting in Turkey, Uzbek Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz Kamilov and Secretary-General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Helga Schmid emphasized the importance of Central Asia’s role in implementing the U.N.’s counterterrorism strategy. Part of the discussions in Turkey involved insecurity in Afghanistan.
The Tashkent conference was organized by the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the OSCE, the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies, the U.N. Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, and the U.N. Counter-Terrorism Office.