ISLAMABAD: The second round of Pakistan-Afghanistan-China trilateral dialogue is being held in Kabul today (Saturday) to discuss peace as well as economic and counter-terrorism cooperation.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is leading the Pakistani delegation at the dialogue, is accompanied by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and other senior officials of the Foreign Office. The Chinese and Afghan foreign ministers are leading their delegations.
A trilateral cooperation framework on counter-terrorism is expected to be signed at the meeting.
According to official, the dialogue between the three countries will be held in three phases. In the first phase, the political situation in Afghanistan and the dialogue process with Taliban will be discussed while in the second phase regional cooperation will be the focus. The third phase will revolve around security cooperation.
The three foreign ministers will also meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
Further, during his day-long visit, the foreign minister will hold bilateral dialogue with his Chinese counterpart.
Speaking to the media ahead of his departure, the foreign minister welcomed the Chinese initiative of holding trilateral dialogue. “Both Pakistan and China desire peace, stability, prosperity and development in Afghanistan,” he said.
“We are carrying the message of friendship and peace to Afghanistan,” he added. The foreign minister stressed that peace is imperative to for the region to move forward on the path of sustainable development.
