Central Asia

Taliban fighters appear poised to capture the strategically and symbolically important city of Helmand in southern Afghanistan. Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters have been locked in heavy clashes for the last two days after the insurgents entered the city which is also the capital of the southern province that bears the same name. Sources say many civilians are trying to flee the city.

Speaking at the start of one of the largest international events to take place in the Uzbek capital for decades, the president of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, spoke of the need for the revival of mutual ties in Central and South Asia, where about two billion people live today. Regional and world leaders are attending the International Conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Interconnectedness. Challenges and Opportunities”, including high level officials from the EU and the US, the President of Afghanistan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the foreign ministers of the Central and South Asian countries, and delegations from 44 countries and about 30 international organisations.

China is rushing to build or increase security ties in Central Asia in the face of a Taliban advance following the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan next month. However, some sources claim China is actually financing the Taliban, a report in the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta says.

In Russia, and in the former Soviet states of Central Asia, there is growing concern about the situation in Afghanistan. Russian media has been urging the authorities to prepare for a Taliban takeover after the US and NATO complete their withdrawal from the country, now scheduled for 31 August, speculating that this will trigger a full-scale power shift in the country within several months.

The eighth High-Level Political and Security Dialogue between the European Union and the countries of Central Asia - Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - took place on Thursday (1 July) in the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, with the participation of Afghanistan as special guest. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss regional dynamics and advance region-to-region cooperation on a broad spectrum of issues, including border management, security and the promotion of sustainable connectivity.