On 7 July 2021 Aibek Artykbaev, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic participated in the meeting of the ministers of the Central Asian countries under the joint organization of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia via videoconference. The meeting was also attended by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Special Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Afghanistan, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Central Asia, the Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, as well as the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Political Affairs on Afghanistan at the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
During the meeting the participants discussed topical issues of the military and political situation in Afghanistan and regional cooperation of the CA countries in maintaining the intra-Afghan process of reconciliation, ceasefire and support for the National Peace Process. The participants agreed that the implementation of regional economic projects with the participation of Afghanistan is possible after the settlement of the situation in the country.
Deputy Minister A.Artykbaev, in his statement, said that the agreements reached in 2020 in Doha between the United States and the Taliban hold some promise of the end of the senseless war. However, the current events in Afghanistan are giving cause for concern. He stressed that the basic solution to Afghan problem is the desire and ability of the people of Afghanistan to consolidate around the "idea of achieving peace in their country" and no matter what to achieve an intra-Afghan dialogue.
Noting the important role of the UN in the settlement of the Afghan problem, Deputy Minister A.Artykbaev emphasized the interest of the Kyrgyz Republic in the implementation of regional trade, transport and energy projects, the construction of cross-border railways that may significantly reduce the time and cost of the transportation of goods between the countries of South Asia and Europe through Central Asia.
The session noted the importance of interaction on all key issues of the maintenance of the process of inter-Afghan reconciliation within the framework of international organizations such as UNRCCA, UNAMA, Istanbul Heart of Asia, SCO and others and also expressed its readiness to continue maintaining a dialogue on the Afghan peace process.

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