ISLAMABAD , May 6, 2023: Foreign ministers of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan will be meeting today in Islamabad to hold 5th China-Pakistan-Afghanistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue.
Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi will lead a high-level delegation at the dialogue while Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will lead his country’s team during the meeting.
Earlier, newly-sworn Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Acting Afghan FM Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday arrived in Pakistan to hold the trilateral dialogue.
Mr Gang, who is paying his maiden visit to Pakistan, would attend the fourth round of the Sino-Pak Strategic Dialogue, co-chaired by the Chinese FM and his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto. The strategic dialogue is a structured mechanism that reviews bilateral cooperation in key areas.
Moreover, he would also participate in the trilateral dialogue comprising Mr Muttaqi and Mr Bhutto. On the other hand, Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also landed in Islamabad.
Taking to Twitter, Afghan MoFA spokesperson Hafiz Zia Ahmad wrote, “Today, a comprehensive political and commercial delegation led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi, arrived in the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad”.
A couple of days ago, the FO had reported that the Afghan delegation would include Acting Afghan Minister for Commerce and Industry Haji Nooruddin Azizi, and senior officials from the Afghan ministries of foreign affairs, transport, and trade, a Foreign Office statement said.
Mr Bhutto, after concluding his two-day trip to India, wrote “Tomorrow the FMs of China and Afghanistan will be visiting Pakistan where we will engage in bilateral meetings, followed by a trilateral meeting between our three countries.”
The visit of the Acting Afghan Foreign Minister is a continuation of Pakistan’s political engagement process with Afghanistan, which, inter alia, included a visit of Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs to Kabul on November 29, 2022, and visit of a high-level delegation led by the Defence Minister of Pakistan to Kabul on February 22, 2023.
During the visit, the two sides will review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the political, economic, trade, connectivity, peace and security, and education domains.
Pakistan is desirous of a peaceful, prosperous, stable and connected Afghanistan and reiterates its commitment to pursue continuous and practical engagement with the Interim Afghan Government, the statement added.