Pakistan, China strongly support Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process: FM Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday underscored that as neighboring countries  and friends of Afghanistan, Pakistan and China strongly support Afghan-led and Afghan owned peace  process.

The Foreign Minister expressed these views during his meeting with Chinese State Councilor  and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, China.

The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and  regional matters including the situation in Afghanistan, a foreign office statement issued here said.

Foreign Minister Qureshi reiterated that the ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’ between Pakistan and China was deeply rooted in mutual trust and respect.

While discussing the evolving political dynamics in Afghanistan, the two sides underscored commonality of views on the matter.

He also appreciated China’s important role in furtherance of peace and development in Afghanistan, particularly through China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral mechanism.

Expressing satisfaction at the strong bilateral partnership, FM Qureshi highlighted that CPEC has added an important dimension to bilateral ties. He noted the important progress made on CPEC during the 8th meeting of Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) held in Beijing on December 20.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi appreciated Pakistan for its efforts for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.

He said China attaches paramount importance to its relations with Pakistan and underlined that time-tested partnership between two countries is based on mutual respect, trust and strong bonds of friendship.

Both leaders agreed that the highly successful visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan set the tone for further expanding the time-tested friendship between Pakistan and China.

Both leaders noted with satisfaction bilateral cooperation at multilateral fora and emphasized the need to further deepen communication and coordination at all levels.