The International Partnership Initiatives Week wrapped up yesterday. The last roundtable discussion was about Uzbekistan's foreign policy course, where the speakers talked about Afghanistan, Ukraine war, regional cooperation, the Middle Eastern crisis, diplomatic dialogue and other topics.

This session was moderated by Salma Abdel Aziz, a journalist from CNN's London office. First of all, the moderator asked about the situation in Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, and Uzbekistan’s foreign policy course towards them. The first deputy speaker of the Senate Sodiq Safoev said that today's Uzbekistan had opened to the world. He added that Tashkent was able to find a compromise and solution with its neighbors on border issues.

Deputy Foreign Minister, Bahromjon Aloev, underscored that official Tashkent is increasing the number of its partners around the world. We have even built close contacts with African countries, says the deputy minister. In addition, the dialogue with the Middle East region has changed. Until recently, dialogue with this region was limited to diplomatic relations, but now we are reaching important economic agreements, according to the participants of the session.

President’s Afghanistan Envoy, Ismatulla Irgashev said that Tashkent would not cut off aid to Afghanistan, projects will continue, and in this regard, Uzbekistan will work on the principle of a close neighbor is better than a distant relative.

Safoev, answering the question about BRICS membership, said that this issue was not even on the table. It is far too early to talk about the single currency, he added.

Ismatulla Irgashev speaking about the Koshtepa channel, he said that, there is no confrontation with the Taliban on this matter.

The Afghan people also have the right to use the Koshtepa canal, there is no issue between us. The question is which country will use how much and the quota of its use, taking into account the drying up of the river, says Irgashev.