NEW YORK - The United Nations Security Council commended yesterday the role of a regional UN body tasked to advance preventive diplomacy for successfully mobilizing Central Asian States to “normalizing the situation in Afghanistan”.
Related article: Security Council stresses need for further cooperation in Central Asia

While welcoming a briefing by Miroslav Jenca, the special UN envoy on the work of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), the 15-member Council also said Afghanistan moving from transition to transformation “affects the situation” in Central Asia.

The Council also hailed the UNRCCA for “fostering broader regional integration and cooperation as a tool to boost stability and sustainable development in the region”.

“The members of the Security Council stressed the need for further cooperation and coordination between the Governments of the region, the Regional Centre, and regional organizations to strengthen the region’s capacity to overcome the challenges to peace, stability and sustainable development in Central Asia,” said a Council press statement.

Headquartered in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), the Regional Centre marked the fifth anniversary of its inauguration in December 2012. Its goal is to assist and support the Governments Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in building their conflict prevention capacities through enhanced dialogue, confidence building measures and establishing genuine partnership in order to respond to existing threats and emerging challenges in the Central Asian region. The Centre is also tasked with maintaining close contact with UNAMA to ensure a comprehensive and integrated analysis of the situation in the region.

A UNRCCA-commissioned paper in October 2012 “Afghanistan after 2014: Bane or Boom in Relations with Central Asia?” recommended the Central Asian States to support to stabilization efforts in Afghanistan by investing in socio-economic projects. It said implementation of the much-touted TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline would greatly benefit Afghanistan. The paper also called for intensified counter-terrorism and anti-narcotics cooperation with Afghanistan.

The Istanbul Process launched at the Heart of Asia Summit in November 2011 in Turkey provided new opportunities for Central Asia to engage in Afghanistan. The Istanbul process is a new approach with an agenda for regional cooperation. Afghanistan was placed in its centre and promoted as a land-bridge connecting South Asia, Central Asia, Eurasia/Europe and the Middle East.

A report of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month said the increasingly practical focus of the Istanbul Process, especially the progress in translating confidence-building measures into implementation plans, was welcome and should yield “tangible results”. “I commend the active engagement of those Member States, supporter countries and regional organizations that are participating in this important work and pledge the continued cooperation and support of the United Nations,” said Mr. Ban in his report.

By UNAMA Kabul