Foreign ministers of China, Pakistan, Afghanistan to Meet by End of 2017 for Regional Cooperation

BEIJING, Sep 8 : Foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan will hold their first meeting by the end of 2017 with a goal to establish a new platform for regional cooperation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said while addressing a joint press conference with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif who arrived in Beijing on his first visit to China as a foreign Minister.

The Chinese foreign minister further said that before the end of this year, there will be the first China, Pakistan and Afghanistan foreign ministers’ meeting to be held in China.
“We have identified three priority areas which are strategic communication, security dialogue and practical cooperation. And on that basis we will work on the tri-lateral cooperation starting from the easier matters, and with a goal of establishing a new platform for regional cooperation”, he added.
Wang Yi, said his country will continue to support Pakistan in the war against terrorism, adding that peace in Afghanistan remains in the interest of both countries, adding, China wants improved relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the relations between China and Pakistan are exemplary and that Pakistan deeply values China’s support for the country’s territorial integrity.
He said there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict and that the Kabul-Islamabad tensions should end through political talks.
“The solution to the Afghan problem is fundamentally a political and not a military one,” he added.