The British and Turkmen foreign ministries have discussed regional security issues and the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the situation in Afghanistan.
The British Embassy said on Facebook that the British Special Representative for Afghanistan, Andrew McCoubrey, had met with Turkmenistan's Deputy Foreign Secretary, Vepa Hajiyev.
"They agreed to continue our strong and productive engagement on Afghanistan in multilateral fora and bilateral meetings."
The Turkmen Foreign Ministry notes that during the videoconference, "particular emphasis was placed on selected humanitarian issues concerning the situation in the region".
Afghanistan, which shares borders in Central Asia with Tajikistan (1,300 km), Turkmenistan (800 km), and Uzbekistan (144 km), is still going through a challenging time.
The current concerns are primarily related to the threat of a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, which could cause a new influx of refugees into neighboring states.
The attitude to such a development is ambiguous. Many experts speak of the risk of terrorists masquerading as refugees entering the region.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, reports that the Refugee Response Plan for the Afghanistan Situation 2023 seeks US$613mn to support Afghans sheltering in five neighboring countries: Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
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