US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West and Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights Rina Amiri, visited Astana, Kazakhstan to attend the C5+1 special session on Afghanistan, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry press service informed on Friday.
The US Special Representative was received by the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kairat Umarov, who stressed Kazakhstan's support for international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
In particular, Umarov drew attention to Kazakh President’s initiative to establish a UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Development in Almaty, which would promote socio-economic and trade investment development between Central Asia and Afghanistan.
During the meeting, representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan (the Turkmen Ambassador to Kazakhstan Batyr Rejepov), Uzbekistan, and the United States met at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry to discuss ways to provide humanitarian assistance, protect human rights, and promote international cooperation with Afghanistan.
On his Twitter page, Thomas West addressed the attendees of the C5+1 special session: “I thank them all individually for a highly substantive exchange on critical issues, including security, human rights, the economy, and humanitarian needs."
According to the US State Department, the US envoys will also hold talks with officials from Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, this week.
C5+1 is a multilateral platform established in 2015 by the five Central Asian countries and the United States to promote trade, economic, and other areas of mutual interest.