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Tashkent-hosted high-level conference to focus on boosting ties in Central, South Asia

Russia’s delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

TASHKENT, July 15. /TASS/. Participants in an international high-level conference, set to take place in Uzbekistan’s capital of Tashkent on July 15-16, will discuss the prospects for upgrading the economies of Central and South Asian countries and boost interregional ties.

According to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s Spokesman Sherzod Asadov, the conference will involve over 600 people from almost 50 countries, as well as the leaders of international and regional organizations. Participants will include Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. According to the organizers, Russia’s delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. US Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall will head the United States’ delegation.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that a meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan would be held on the sidelines of the conference on July 16. According to her, the meeting will focus on the situation in Afghanistan following US troop withdrawal.

According to the organizers, the goal of the event is to establish a political and expert platform aimed at developing a model for mutually-beneficial strategic ties between Central and South Asian countries in transport, logistics, energy, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian fields.