AKIPRESS.COM - In his statement before the “Tashkent International Conference on Afghanistan: Security and Economic Development” held on July 26, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha, commended the timely initiative by the Uzbek authorities to convene this major event at such a critical juncture for the future of Afghanistan.

The statement, delivered by Ambassador Tarik Ali Bakhiet, the OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, emphasized the pressing need for a “well-coordinated and strategically integrated approach to the wide range of challenges facing Afghanistan and its people. Such an approach, Secretary General Taha stressed, would only be feasible though pursuing sustained and constructive engagement with the de facto authorities.

He called on multilateral aid, development, and humanitarian organizations to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan’s vulnerable communities.

He encouraged OIC Member States, world countries, and international as well as regional organisations to consider making contributions to the OIC Trust Fund for Afghanistan. “The larger the support to the Trust Fund,” he said, “the wider the scope of assistance projects will be, and subsequently greater segments of Afghan society would benefit from such assistance programs.”

Secretary General Taha indicated that the ultimate objective lies in promoting the realization and enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms by all Afghan citizens in a secure, stable and economically thriving environment.