Tashkent (UNA) – Addressing the Tashkent International Conference on Afghanistan: Security and Economic Development, held on 26 July 2022 in the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hussain Ibrahim Taha, commended the timely initiative of the Uzbek authorities to hold this major event at this critical moment for the future of Afghanistan. In his address, delivered on behalf of Ambassador Tariq Ali Bakhit, his Special Envoy for Afghanistan, the Secretary General stressed the urgent need for a strategically coordinated and integrated approach to address the enormous challenges facing Afghanistan and its people, stressing that the way to achieve this is through sustained and constructive engagement with the country’s de facto authorities. The Secretary General called on multilateral humanitarian and development organizations to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people in these critical circumstances. He encouraged OIC Member States, countries of the world, and international and regional organizations to consider making contributions to the OIC Trust Fund for Afghanistan. He said: The more support is provided to the Trust Fund, the wider the scope of assistance projects will be and the greater the benefit of assistance programmes will be for larger segments of Afghan society. The Secretary-General concluded his remarks by emphasizing that the desired goal is to promote the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Afghan citizens within a secure, stable and economically prosperous environment. (End)
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