State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi and Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Salahuddin Rabbani will arrive here today (Saturday) for the third round of China-Afghanistan-Pakistan foreign ministers' dialogue amid latest surge in violence and Taliban's advancement in some Afghan cities.
"The third round of China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Dialogue will be held on 07 September 2019 in Islamabad under the chairmanship of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi," Foreign Office said on Friday, adding that State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi and Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Salahuddin Rabbani will lead their respective delegations.
It stated that the agenda of the dialogue focuses on political relations and peace process, security cooperation and counterterrorism, and development, cooperation and connectivity.
The China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Dialogue was established in 2017 as a mean of trilateral cooperation on issues of mutual interest and with a particular focus on cooperation in economic development and peace and security. The first meeting of the Dialogue was held in Beijing in 2017 and the second in Kabul in December 2018.
The dialogue provides an opportunity to illustrate the joint efforts made by the three countries on political cooperation and facilitating Afghan peace and reconciliation process since the last round.
"Pakistan attaches highest importance to the dialogue as a part of political trust building, development and cooperation and connectivity leading to greater understanding on issues of common concern," the Foreign Office further stated.
The dialogue is taking place at a time when the United States and Taliban have almost finalized the peace deal but the latest rise in violence and Taliban's advancement in certain cities of Afghanistan has caused panic in the US and Afghan circles.
The US Special Representative for Afghanistan's Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad along with the US and Nato Forces Commander in Afghanistan Gen Scott Miller have reportedly reached Doha, the Qatari capital, to discuss with Taliban's political representatives the latest surge in attacks by the group in Afghanistan.
Sources said the trilateral foreign ministers' dialogue of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan was also expected to call on the parties to avoid military option and resolve the Afghan conflict through political dialogue.
The Chinese foreign minister earlier cancelled his scheduled visit to India apparently due to the opposition by Beijing and Islamabad jointly to New Delhi's August 5 illegal and unilateral actions by revoking the special status of occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chinese foreign minister was scheduled to visit India on September 9-10 at the conclusion of his visit to Pakistan to hold talks with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on border related issues.
Comments
Comments are closed.