GCC and Central Asian states share common interests

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the Central Asian Countries (C5) — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — all member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, have shared values and historical ties, and possess significant oil and gas resources that qualify them to play an influential role in global energy security.

Hosting of the GCC-Central Asia Summit by Saudi Arabia reflects its keenness to boost existing relations, in conjunction with the GCC. It also reflects the interest of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in developing relations between the GCC and C5 and increasing coordination between them on issues of common interest.

The GCC-C5 Summit held in Saudi Arabia is testimony to the participating countries' appreciation of the status of the Kingdom at the Gulf, Islamic and international levels, and their commitment to establishing a strategic partnership based on a common action plan for political and security dialogue, and economic cooperation and investment.

The first-of-its-kind summit reflects the keenness of the GCC countries, mainly Saudi Arabia, to establish partnerships with the international community to enhance the global status of the GCC.

The GCC Secretary General held the first high-level meeting with the ministers of foreign affairs of C5 countries in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on October 12, 2021; Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani participated in it. The meeting highlighted the importance of the C5 region for GCC countries and the desire to start a strategic dialogue with it.

Participants in the high-level ministerial meeting stressed the importance of relations of Gulf-Central Asian countries and their aspiration to boost cooperation and coordination in areas of common interest, bolster bridges of communication and work to seize opportunities and develop processes of coordination and cooperation.

The First Ministerial Meeting of the GCC-Central Asia Strategic Dialogue was held in Riyadh on September 07, 2022. Chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, the goal was to develop relations with a view to achieving common interests.

The ministers affirmed their commitment to establishing a strong and ambitious partnership among their countries, based on common values and interests, deep historical ties between the peoples, and the existing cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels.

They also reaffirmed commitment to previously agreed-upon cooperation to support global economic recovery efforts and address the COVID-19 repercussions, help supply chains recover, support transportation and communication, food, energy and water security, develop green energy sources and technologies, address environmental challenges and climate change, education, and exchange of best practices and expertise in various fields, create business opportunities and support investments through appropriate business and investment mechanisms.

Moreover, the ministers underlined the relevance of the principles, goals and priorities stated in the context of Central Asian countries interaction, adopted by the heads of Central Asia states on July 21, 2022, in Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan, and the GCC decision to establish cooperation with Central Asian countries.

To achieve their goals, the ministers endorsed the Joint Action Plan for Strategic Dialogue and Cooperation between Central Asian countries and the GCC States for the period 2023-27, including political and security dialogue, economic and investment cooperation, enhancing people-to-people contacts, and developing effective partnerships between business sectors in the GCC and Central Asia. The ministers also pledged to take the measures necessary for the proper implementation of the plan at bilateral and multilateral levels.

The value of trade between the GCC and Central Asia countries amounted to US$3.1 billion in 2021, about 0.27% of the total value of the GCC merchandise trade.

The value of GCC exports to Central Asia amounted to US$2.06 billion in 2021, while imports amounted to US$1.03 billion.

The maximum exports from the GCC to Central Asia reached 0.37% in 2020, while the maximum imports by the GCC reached 0.21% in 2021.

Electrical machinery and appliances constituted the major goods exported to Central Asia, at a value of US$0.98 billion, about 47.6% of the total volume of goods exported by the GCC to Central Asia, which amounted to US$2.06 billion.

Copper and its by-products constituted the major commodity imported from Central Asia, at a value of US$0.45 billion in 2021, or about 43.7% of the total commodity imports from Central Asia, followed by gold, precious metals and stones, and iron and steel, at about 24.3% each.

China urges 'Brethren in Central Asia' to unite

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the “Brethren in Central Asia” to unite against attempts to divide them in the face of unprecedented turmoil and build themselves as the bridge connecting Asia and Europe.

“The world needs a harmonious Central Asia. Brotherhood is better than all wealth,” Xi said in a keynote speech delivered on the second day of the inaugural China-Central Asia Summit in Xian, attended by the leaders of five countries in the region.

“Ethnic conflicts, religious strife and cultural divisions are not the main theme of Central Asia. Unity, tolerance and harmony are what the people of Central Asia seek,” he said, adding, “No one has the right to create discord and confrontation in Central Asia, let alone seek political self-interest from it”.

“The sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be safeguarded, the development path chosen independently by the Central Asian people must be respected, and the efforts of the Central Asian region to work for peace, harmony and tranquility must be supported,” Xi said.

With its “unique geographical advantage”, Central Asia could “become an important interconnection hub in Asia and Europe”.

Xi pledged to expand trade and economic cooperation with Central Asia and said Beijing would deepen connectivity in the region and expand energy cooperation, among other things, according to state news agency Xinhua.

He said China hoped to speed up construction of the Line D natural gas pipeline and expand the scale of oil and gas trade with the region.

Xi also announced that China would provide US$3.7 billion in financial support for the development of Central Asian nations.

Xi said the summit – the first in-person meeting of its kind since Beijing established diplomatic relations with the five newly independent countries in 1992 – opened up new prospects for cooperation with Central Asia.

“The relations between China and Central Asian countries have profound historical origins, extensive practical needs, and a solid foundation of public opinion, and they are full of vigor and vitality in the new era,” he said.

Xi said China was willing to help Central Asian countries bolster their law enforcement security and defence capabilities to independently maintain regional security, adding that China would promote the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Xi also called for joint efforts to boost strategic trust and strengthen security ties between China and Central Asia.

“We will resolutely oppose external forces interfering in the internal affairs of regional countries and staging ‘colour revolutions’, maintain zero tolerance for the three forces, and work to resolve the regional security dilemma,” he said, referring to terrorism, separatism and religious extremism.

The summit, in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, coincided with the Group of Seven meeting in Japan, where leaders from the advanced economies – including the US, Canada, Germany and France – are expected to discuss ways to counter China’s economic coercion.

The leaders agreed on Friday to set up a formal mechanism to hold a China-Central Asia meeting every two years, with Kazakhstan to host the next one in 2025.

Beijing views Central Asia as a critical frontier for expanding trade and energy security. The region is also regarded as crucial to maintaining stability in Xinjiang, where the treatment of Uygur Muslims has been among the most contentious issues between China and the West.

In recent months, efforts to strengthen ties with the region included Xi’s first trip abroad since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, with visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in September.

On Thursday, Xi held a series of one-on-one meetings with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. All expressed support for greater Chinese engagement in the region, including under the flagship Belt and Road Initiative.

Yu Jun, deputy director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s department of European-Central Asian affairs, flagged on Tuesday that the leaders of the six nations were expected to sign a slew of important political documents on areas including economy, trade and connectivity.

Trade between China and the five Central Asian countries has increased significantly since Beijing launched its belt and road plan in 2013. The combined volume reached US$70.2 billion last year, up 40%YoY, according to Chinese customs data.

 

Iranian presence in neighboring countries in oil and gas exploration

Director of Exploration of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) stated that currently Iran has oil and gas exploration relations with four neighboring countries. Transferring exploration technologies to neighboring countries is creating value and generating income for Iran.

Making the remarks in a press conference, Mehdi Fakour said that exploration has a special status in the oil industry, stressing that exploration maps the country's energy future.

The transfer of exploration technologies to neighboring countries can create value and generate income, the official further reiterated.

Pointing out that there is no local exploration management in the countries around Iran, the director of the exploration of the National Iranian Oil Company said this is a prominent position for the Iranian Ministry of Oil to present itself to the neighboring countries and Eurasian countries, and they are also willing to cooperate with Iran.

Emphasizing that this important issue has not been possible in the past years, Fakour clarified, “We now have exploratory relations with four neighboring countries.”

He pointed to the holding of meetings with Oman and said, “We had meetings with the minister of Oman and they accepted all the proposals for exploration cooperation to form a joint team and advance the agreements.”

The official also named Tajikistan, Russia, and Iraq as the three other neighboring countries cooperating with Iran in the field of exploration.

 

Iran's Joining Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian praised Iran’s decision to move forward with an accession bill to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), noting that a recent vote on the bill for the accession of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the SCO shows the determination and seriousness of our country to develop regional, international, and economic cooperation and strengthen its view of Asia.

The SCO includes countries in Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and China. These are important countries because Russia and China tend to position themselves at odds with the US. This is increasingly true with Russia after the Ukraine invasion. Russia and the West appear to have completely destroyed their relations, and Iran would like to swoop in and benefit.

Iran calls this multilateralism. Recently in an interview with the Chinese People’s Daily Online published on Saturday, Mohammad Keshavarzzadeh stated that the SCO seeks to assist in providing better answers to the problems faced by member states as well as the region.

He argued that there was great “significance of Iran joining the bloc by pointing out that the organization includes members from Central and Eastern Asia in addition to other regions, and this can give Iran a platform to make overtures with all of these countries.”

The reason Iran likes the SCO is that it views it as an organization that has no Western members. “On a question that some Western nations equate the SCO with NATO, Keshavarzzadeh said such a comparison is wrong because the SCO is an inclusive bloc and not a military alliance,” a report in Tehran Times noted. These are pro-regime publications and reflect Iran’s stance.

An article at the Carnegie Endowment for International peace notes that Iran joining the SCO will bring some benefits to Tehran, but there are also hurdles.

“Iranian officials still maintain that officially joining the SCO – which is slated to occur by April 2023 – will bring benefits in the economic, commercial, and strategic sectors. Furthermore, from the perspective of the SCO itself, Iran’s political cooperation may be useful for the organization’s relations with the Islamic world,” the report noted.

It also notes that trade between Iran and SCO countries surpassed US$651 billion last year. But Iran will need to modernize its infrastructure to take advantage of any new opportunities. Also, the new China-Iran partnership will take a while to be realized in terms of benefits for Tehran.

 

Pakistani Prime Minister meets world leaders at Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting

Pakistani Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Samarkand Thursday on a two-day trip to attend the 22nd annual meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Uzbekistan PM Abdulla Aripov received him at the airport.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and Defence Minister Khwaja Asif are also accompanying him.

Shortly after arriving, the prime minister visited Khizr Complex and paid his respects at the mausoleum of Uzbekistan’s first president, Islam Karimov.

One of his important meetings was with Russian President. Vladimir Putin said that pipeline gas supplies to Pakistan were possible, revealing that necessary infrastructures were already in place, according to state-owned news agency RIA.

On the sidelines of the SCO summit, Shehbaz met several world leaders including Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. The two leaders acknowledged moving forward positive trajectory of bilateral relations.

The prime minister also met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov.

Earlier in the day, the premier held a meeting with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and discussed issues of mutual interest.

The meeting focused on strengthening Pak-Uzbek ties in diverse fields for the benefit of the two brotherly nations.

The PM also met President of Tajikistan Emamoli Rahmon. Both leaders agreed to bolster and expand the scope of mutually beneficial fraternal ties.

Shehbaz thanked Tajikistan for its support to the flood affectees in Pakistan and shared details of the devastation caused by the massive floods, induced by climate change.

Furthermore, he underlined the importance of regular meetings on bilateral institutional mechanisms and the establishment of mutually beneficial cooperation in the implementation of energy projects.

The premier is scheduled to meet other world leaders including Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

However, Foreign Office Spokesman Asim Iftikhar told Shehbaz had no plans to meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Prior to his departure, PM Shehbaz took to Twitter to share his views on the SCO summit.

“The global economic turbulence has necessitated the need for more cooperation among SCO member countries,” he said, adding that the “SCO vision” represented the aspirations of 40% of the world’s population.

“Pakistan reiterates its commitment to ‘Shanghai Spirit’. Mutual respect and trust can be the bedrock of shared development and prosperity,” he said.

“The SCO has great potential to chart a way forward at a time of deeply worrying transformation in geopolitical and geoeconomic fields,” he concluded.

 “At the forthcoming event, the SCO leaders will deliberate on important global and regional issues, including climate change, food security, energy security, and sustainable supply chains,” according to Radio Pakistan.

They will also approve agreements and documents that would chart the future direction of cooperation among SCO member states.

 

China holds multinational meeting to discuss Afghanistan situation

China is holding two multinational meetings in the ancient town of Tunxi to discuss the economic and humanitarian crisis facing Afghanistan, as Beijing makes a diplomatic push for the country’s stability and development under the Taliban.

Afghan acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is attending the two-day meeting to be attended by foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s immediate neighbors – Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Diplomats from Indonesia and Qatar will send their representatives as guest attendees to the regional meeting to be hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

“The talks will echo positively with the third meeting of foreign ministers of the Afghan neighbouring countries, to further cement the consensus of all parties … to help Afghanistan achieve peace, stability and development at an early date,” Wang Wenbin, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said.

A separate meeting of the “Extended Troika” will be held concurrently among special envoys for Afghanistan from China, the United States and Russia, China’s foreign ministry said.

“China, the United States, Russia and Pakistan are all countries with significant influence on the Afghan issue,” the foreign ministry spokesperson Wang said of the Troika meeting at a daily briefing on Tuesday.

Tom West, the US special representative for Afghanistan, will attend the meeting of the so-called Extended Troika, a US State Department spokesperson said.

The meetings are being held in Tunxi, an ancient town in Anhui province, possibly because of the relative ease of maintaining a bubble amid coronavirus lockdown in major cities.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday arrived in Tunxi for the talks with his Chinese counterpart but it is not confirmed if he will attend the Afghan meetings.

Lavrov has largely stayed in Russia since last month’s invasion of Ukraine but did travel to Turkey on Tuesday for talks with his counterpart from Kyiv.

The talk comes in the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as Afghanistan suffers an economic and humanitarian crisis worsened by a financial aid cutoff and sanctions following the Taliban takeover as US-led troops withdrew in August.

Taliban, who fought the US forces for 20 years, returned to power in August 2021 after the collapse of West-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani.

The talks also come amid widespread condemnation of the Taliban’s U-turn last week on allowing girls to attend public high schools, which has sparked consternation among funders ahead of a key aid donors’ conference.

The school closure prompted US officials to cancel talks in Doha with the Taliban and a State Department warning that Washington saw the decision as “a potential turning point in our engagement” with the armed group.

The US believes that it shares with other Extended Troika members an interest in the Taliban making good on commitments to form an inclusive government, cooperate on counterterrorism and rebuild the Afghan economy, the State Department spokesperson said.

Diplomats and aid groups have warned that Taliban decision to keep the schools shut could make donors, already facing increased needs because of the Ukraine crisis, scale back their commitments.

On Wednesday, the World Bank put four projects in Afghanistan worth US$600 million on hold over the school ban.

Britain on Wednesday pledged an additional US$374 million for life-saving food and other aid in Afghanistan, a day ahead of an international conference seeking more than US$4 billion, even as concerns mount over Taliban rule.

The UN humanitarian appeal, the largest ever launched for a single country, is only 13 percent funded, UN spokesperson Jens Laerke said ahead of Thursday’s pledging conference.

Roughly 23 million people are experiencing acute hunger and 95 percent of Afghans are not eating enough, while 10 million children are in urgent need of aid to survive, according to the UN.

China has studiously avoided mentioning the limits on girls’ education and other human rights abuses, particularly those targeting women while keeping its Kabul embassy open.

Lately, Chinese Foreign Minister visited the Afghan capital Kabul, where he met the Acting Afghan Foreign Minister to discuss political and economic ties, including starting work in the mining sector and Afghanistan’s possible role in China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, the Afghan foreign ministry said.

The surprise stop in Kabul came as the international community fumes over the Taliban administration’s broken promise a day earlier to open schools to girls beyond the sixth grade.

China, in line with the international community, has not recognized Afghanistan’s so-called “Islamic Emirate”, but has refrained from making harsh criticism against the group.

A month before the Taliban took power, Chinese Foreign Minister, had hosted a high-power delegation from the group on July 28, 2021, meeting in the Chinese port city of Tianjin. Wang referred to the group as pivotal force important to peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

On that and other occasions, the Chinese have pushed the Taliban for assurances it will not permit operations within its borders by members of China’s Turkic Muslim Uighur minority, which has faced repression from Beijing.

 

Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul freight train service

The Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) railway project, or ECO freight train, was inaugurated with the first freight train moving on Tuesday during a ceremony attended by Iranian and Pakistani officials.

Pakistani Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati, along with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood inaugurated the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul freight train at Margalla railway station, in Islamabad.

Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini, as well as the ambassadors of Turkey, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to Pakistan, in addition to the representative of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) were also present at the ceremony.

Addressing the ceremony, the Pakistani minister for railways said, "Launching of the container train from Pakistan to Iran and Turkey was a long-standing dream of the countries of the region, which has come true again”.

Terming the ITI freight train an important milestone in Pakistan’s history, the minister said that business-to-business contact among the business community would further enhance through this train. He said the service would further strengthen relations between the three countries.

Also, Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi appreciated the resumption of ITI freight train and said the service would play an important role in regional connectivity and promoting economic activity in the region.

Adviser to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, for his part, said that ECO train as one of the most effective vehicles can help in expanding exports, imports and trade between member countries.

The length of the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul railway is 6,500 km, of which 2,570 km is in Iran, 2,000 km in Turkey and about 1,900 km in Pakistan, which takes less than half the shipping time and will also be safer and more economical as compared to road.

ITI freight train will be operated regularly on Tuesday of every week. The freight train had nine wagons initially, said a senior railway official.

As per present arrangement to start the train and the schedule agreed jointly by Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, the running time between Drence-Kapikoy (Istanbul) and Zahedan-Tabraiz (Iran) will be 90 hours each. From Zahedan to Islamabad, the train would take 135.5 hours.

 

Iran’s growing trade with ECO member countries

Iran’s trade with the members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) exceeded US$10.447 billion in the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-November 22) to register a 44% increase year on year (YoY), the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said.

According to Ruhollah Latifi, the volume of trade with the mentioned countries also increased by 34 percent in comparison to the previous year’s same eight months, IRNA reported.

As reported, during the mentioned period Iran traded over 21,778,387 tons of commodities worth US$10.447 billion with ECO member countries including Turkey, Afghanistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Iran exported 18.631 million tons of commodities worth over US$6.823 billion to the said nations in the mentioned period.

He said major export destinations of the Iranian goods in the said union were Turkey with about US$3.767 billion of imports, Afghanistan with US$1.27 billion, Pakistan with US$764.389 million, and Azerbaijan with US$335.843 million.

As reported, the Islamic Republic’s export to ECO members increased by 46% and 54% as compared to the figures for the previous year in terms of weight and value, respectively.

Meanwhile, the country imported 3,147,332 tons of goods valued at over US$3.623 billion from the ECO member countries, with Turkey, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan being the top sources of imported goods.

The value of Iranian imports from the ECO union also increased by 28% as compared to the previous year’s same time span, the official said.

According to Latifi, more than 23.723 million tons of goods worth US$11.71 billion were traded between Iran and the ECO member countries during the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20), of which the share of exports was 18.419 million tons of goods worth US$6.890 billion and the share of imports from these countries was 5.312 million tons worth US$4.819 billion.

The value of Iran’s non-oil trade during the first eight months of the current year stood at about US$33 billion, Latifi had previously announced.

The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is an Asian political and economic intergovernmental organization that was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.

 

Iran keen in developing links with neighbors

Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari has said it is a priority to expand economic and trade cooperation with neighbors, saying the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) can help achieve this goal.

Safari made the remarks at a meeting with ECO Secretary-General Khosrow Nazeri on the eve of the ECO summit in Turkmenistan, Mehr reported on Wednesday.

ECO includes Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

At the meeting, the ECO chief presented a report on the process to prepare for the summit in Ashgabat and hailed Iran for its assistance in this regard.

Safari said expansion of economic and trade cooperation with neighbors is a priority of the new Iranian administration and stressed the role of ECO in achieving the goals of member countries.

The top diplomat said a plan by Iran to send a high-level team to the forthcoming summit signifies the prominent position of ECO.

Safari said Iran is ready help ECO members to implement important decisions at the ECO summit in Ashgabat.

Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Rostam Qasemi said that positive agreements have been reached with neighboring countries, for expansion of transportation cooperation, especially in the aviation sector, IRNA reported.

Speaking at the ceremony on introducing the new head of Civil Aviation Organization (CAO), Qasemi said, “We recently reached agreements with Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, part of which is related to the development of aviation.”

According to the official, the expansion of transportation cooperation with other countries will lead to the expansion of trade ties and eventually will increase the country’s revenues.

“We have made plans for upgrading our transportation fleet. However, we need effective measures to be taken for the development of the aviation industry,” he stressed.

He further stated that the most important factor in the development of the aviation industry is the use of specialists to promote it, adding: “In order to empower the aviation industry to meet the needs of the country, we need more work to be done, and this capability exists inside the country.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Qasemi mentioned the needs of other transportation sectors including road, maritime, and rail, and said, “The transport sector needs to modernize its fleet, and we have not yet achieved the goals of the program in the rail, sea, and land sectors.”

Ghasemi pointed to the existing problems in the railway fleet and also the incompleteness of the country’s railway corridors and said, "Conditions in the railway sector are not favorable, the average life of the road transportation fleet is high and in the sea sector, despite high capacities, the capacity of the country’s ports has not been used well."

 

Taliban seize key Afghan border crossing with Iran

According to Associated Press report, Taliban on Thursday seized another key Afghan border crossing, this time with Iran. The seizure is part of a Taliban surge as American troops complete their pullout from Afghanistan.

It was the third border crossing the insurgents have taken in the past week, after seizing crossings with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The development came as President Joe Biden said the US military mission in Afghanistan will stop operation on 31^st August 2021.

Taliban victories have caused some countries to close their consulates in the region, while Tajikistan has called up reservists to reinforce that country’s southern border with Afghanistan.

An Afghan official said the Taliban on Thursday took control the Islam Qala crossing point in western Herat province. The official, who is in Herat, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information to reporters.

Afghan soldiers in the border area of Islam Qala — a major transit route between Afghanistan and Iran — fled from their positions, crossing into Iran for refuge, Iranian media reported. The crossing is around 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of the city of Herat, the provincial capital.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted to confirm the taking of Islam Qala and said that Taliban fighters entered the Islam Qala town itself, and were greeted warmly by the local residents. Mujahid also posted a video purporting to show Taliban riding on the back of trucks in Islam Qala and shooting off into the air in celebration as a crowd of men cheered on.

Afghanistan has seen a Taliban surge as the American and NATO pullout stepped up over the past few months. On Tuesday, the US Central Command said 90% of the withdrawal of US troops and equipment from Afghanistan is complete. The US says the last troops will be gone by August.

Earlier, Taliban seized control of several districts from fleeing Afghan forces, several hundred of whom fled across the border into Tajikistan.

Since mid-April, when Biden announced the end to Afghanistan’s “forever war,” the Taliban have made strides throughout the country. On Thursday, Biden said he didn’t trust the Taliban but trusted the capacity of the Afghan military to defend the government. He also urged the Afghan government to reach a peace deal with the Taliban.

But their most significant gains have been in the north, a traditional stronghold of the US-allied warlords who helped defeat the Taliban in 2001. In Badakhshan province, many districts fell without a fight. The consulates of Turkey and Russia have reportedly closed in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, and Afghanistan’s fourth-largest city.

Taliban now control roughly a third of all 421 districts and district centers in Afghanistan. Their victories are also putting pressure on provincial cities and taking away government control of key transportation routes.

Islam Qala made headlines in February, when a massive fire erupted following an explosion of a fuel tanker. At least 20 people were injured and hundreds of trucks lined up at the crossing carrying natural gas and fuel were engulfed in the blaze. It took firefighters from both countries three days to put out. There was no suggestion of Taliban involvement in the explosion.

Trade between Iran and SCO members exceeds US$23 billion

The value of trade between Iran and the members of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) rose to US$23.165 billion during the first 11 months of the current Iranian calendar year. This was disclosed by Ruhollah Latifi, spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

Iran has cross-border trade with 11 key member states and observer states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Belarus. Among these the largest volume of trade was with China amounting to US$15.518 billion, the IRICA spokesman stated.

He put Iran’s export to the SCO members at 33.339 million tons valued at US$11.173 billion during the period under review. Out of this the highest amount of export has been to China, amounting to US$6.724 billion and the lowest was to Mongolia, amounting to US$412,809.

Iran’s imports from the member countries weighing 8.408 million tons was worth US$11.991 billion Latifi said, adding the highest amount of imports was from China (US$8.793 billion), and the lowest was from Mongolia (US$2.448 million).

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic and security alliance. Its creation was announced on 15th June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The SCO Charter was signed in June 2002 and became effective on 19th September 2003.