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From the moment it gained its independence, the Republic
of Uzbekistan has acted on the international arena as a country actively
preaching ideas of peace and cooperation between countries and peoples.
Preserving peace and stability in Central Asia is a cornerstone in the
foreign policy of Uzbekistan. First of all, it requires an explanation
to the international community of the growing threat of the creeping expansion
and penetration of religious extremism, fanaticism and international terrorism
in the region.
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The Republic of Uzbekistan acts for an inhibitory prohibition
and destruction of all kinds of nuclear weapons, for the peaceful settlement
of all global conflicts. Our country has repeatedly held international
peace conferences. In 1997 in Uzbekistan, under the initiative of the
President of our country I.A.Karimov, a conference devoted the idea of
the creation in Central Asia of a nuclear-free zone was conducted. And
in 1999 under the initiative of our country, the Tashkent conference of
" 6 + 2 " group on Afghanistan, under UN patronage, aimed at
the peaceful resolution of many years of bloody war in Afghanistan was
conducted. For the first time the representatives of the two main movements
of Afghanistan - "Taliban" and Joint Front - met to work out
peaceful way out of the conflict.
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Taking into consideration the national interests of the
country, as well as realising the doctrine of maintenance of stability
in Central Asia, Uzbekistan aspires to achieve security through co-operation
in the framework of international and regional organisations. Uzbekistan's
place in the Shanghai Organisation for Co-operation as one of its co-constitutors
in June, 2001, bares witness to that. Having signed the Declaration on
the creation of Shanghai Organisation for Co-operation and the Convention
on the struggle against terrorism, separatism and extremism, which will
be distributed as UN official documents, Uzbekistan has made important
steps towards the further strengthening of national and regional security.
This is especially true since, in addition to our nearest neighbours,
two great powers, Russia and China, entered that organisation. If we take
into account the role and prestige of these two states in the present
world, the strategic interests of these two states in various areas of
the world, including the Central Asian region, will become clear enough.
President Karimov spoke about the new international regional organisation
as follows: "We consider the Shanghai Organisation as a tool of multilateral
co-operation for strengthening peace and stability, an open, constructive
partnership and multilateral co-operation, first of all, in the fight
against such global and regional threats, as the international terrorism,
regional extremism, aggressive separatism and trade of narcotic drugs."
The Republic of Uzbekistan actively develops its political,
external economic and business relations with many countries of the world.
These relations are based on principles of equal rights and mutual benefit.
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