The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Thursday opened a two-day consultative meeting in Dushanbe to discuss Afghanistan’s situation, its impact on the region and ways to strengthen coordination among member states.
SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev said ahead of the talks that engagement between member states and the Taliban administration on security issues would be on the agenda. He noted that Afghanistan continues to face social challenges, restrictions on women’s rights and ongoing terrorist threats, and said SCO members share a consensus on these problems.
Reza Bahrami, Iran’s assistant foreign minister and director-general for South Asia, said the meeting would emphasise the importance of greater convergence among SCO members in dealing with Afghanistan.
On the sidelines of the summit, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, met with his Tajik counterpart, Khisrav Sohibzoda, to discuss the growing threat of terrorism in the region. Sadiq said both sides underlined the need for a joint, coordinated strategy to counter extremist threats effectively.