DUSHANBE (Tajiki-stan): Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday invited Tajikistan to benefit from Pakistan’s Gwadar Port as the shortest trade route to Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa.

In a meeting with his Tajik counterpart Sirajuddin Mehruddin here at Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qureshi emphasized on tapping the immense trade potential existing between the two countries.

Qureshi said Gwadar and Pakistan’s other seaports could help boost bilateral trade volume between Pakistan and Tajikistan.

He said Pakistan and Tajikistan enjoyed fraternal relations based on common religious and cultural values.

He congratulated the Tajik foreign minister on successful hosting of ninth Heart of Asia Istanbul Process Conference.

The two foreign ministers expressed satisfaction over the nature of bilateral relations and reiterated their commitment to further strengthen it.

Both stressed the need to strengthen and activate institutional mechanisms between their governments, such as Joint Ministerial Commission and Joint Working Groups.

The two sides hoped that the holding of the fifth Bilateral Political Consultative Meeting between Pakistan and Tajikistan would pave the way for the promotion of cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

Earlier, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirajuddin Meharuddin warmly welcomed Foreign Minister Qureshi and his delegation including Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Imran Haider and senior officials of the Pakistani embassy.

The two foreign ministers led delegation-level talks between their respective delegations that focused on various issues of mutual interest including bilateral relations and bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.