March 29, 2022
ISLAMABAD — Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi left on Tuesday for China to attend the third meeting of the ‘Foreign Ministers of Neighbouring Countries of Afghanistan’.
In a video message before departing, he said the talks would be attended by foreign ministers of all the countries in the region. “We will run through the situation of peace in Afghanistan and discuss its economic development and connectivity projects.”
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During the visit, Qureshi revealed, he would hold multiple bilateral meetings with his counterparts from China, Russia and Iraq, among others.
“This [the talks] is an important platform for consensus-building,” he said, adding that as a whole, the trip would be “fully packed”.
Meanwhile, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, the minister said Pakistan wanted good relations with all nations, adding that other countries wanted good ties with Pakistan as well – which was witnessed by the participation of several countries in a recent meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s foreign ministers hosted by Islamabad.
The statement said Pakistan fully supports a regional approach on Afghanistan for promoting durable peace and stability in the region.
“Pakistan will continue to support the international community’s efforts to advance the shared objectives of a peaceful, stable, sovereign, prosperous and connected Afghanistan,” it read.
He is scheduled to return on Thursday (March 31).
It may be recalled that Pakistan had initiated the Neighbouring Countries format in September last year with a view to evolving a regional approach to the situation in Afghanistan. The first meeting, which was hosted by Pakistan, was held on September 8, 2021.