Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper billed the "working session" as a chance to secure a negotiated response to the ongoing Taliban threat, regional instability, and the expectation that coalition allies will step-up activities in Afghanistan ahead of a crucial presidential election year in the war-torn country.

Uzbekistan’s invitation came a day after the United Nations’ special envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, met Uzbek Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov in Tashkent on 4 December. Eide and Talatbek Masadykov, head of the political desk of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, later met with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov in Ashgabat, Tukmenistan.

Tajik President Imomali Rahmon met UN officials on the sidelines of an international finance and development conference in Doha, Qatar earlier in December.

The Paris meeting will bring together Afghanistan, China, France, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It will also include Germany and Italy, and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and commissioner for external relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.