UZBEKISTAN: CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN TO TAKE

UNCLAS TASHKENT 000398 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINS PBTS UZ SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN TO TAKE PLACE IN TASHKENT ON APRIL 30 ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 5. ¶2. (U) Post has been in contact with Saifiddin Juraev, Director of the Foundation of Regional Policy in Uzbekistan, who has requested U.S. assistance in identifying and providing funding for U.S. participation in an upcoming international conference entitled "Problems of Ensuring Security in Central Asia," which will take place in Tashkent April 30-May 2. Topics to be discussed include existing and new threats to regional security, international terrorism and religious extremism, the conflict in Afghanistan, regional security organizations, and Uzbekistan's role in Central Asian security. ¶3. (U) The conference will be co-sponsored by the OSCE, the Foundation of Regional Policy, and USAID, and experts from the United States, Great Britain, Russia, Ireland, Canada, Germany, India, Pakistan, Slovenia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan have been invited. U.S. experts that have been invited include Zbigniew Brzezinski, James Bonner, Eugene Rumer, Gregory Gleason, Andrew Kichins, Stephen Flanagan, Margarita Assenova, Cynthia Collins Shain, and Mjusa Sever. ¶4. (U) Action request: Post requests the Department's assistance in funding participation of up to three U.S. experts, approximately 7,500 USD, to participate in the conference. Post proposes the following individuals: Roger Kangas, Professor at the National Defense University; Martha Brill Olcott of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Ahmed Rashid, Journalist and Author. End action request. Comment: -------------- ¶5. (U) The U.S. Government has an interest in getting Uzbekistan to see Afghanistan, as well as other regional security challenges from a broader perspective, and the participation of academic experts can help to further this objective. This conference will provide another excellent opportunity to promote a dialogue with the Government of Uzbekistan on security issues of mutual interest, particularly Afghanistan. NORLAND