Pakistan, China, Russia hold trilateral dialogue on Afghanistan

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-11-21 9:10:31

Senior Pakistani, Chinese and Russian officials Wednesday reaffirmed support for an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process and underlined the importance of intensified efforts in that direction.

The support was reiterated during the second round of China- Pakistan-Russia Trilateral Dialogue on Afghanistan held in Islamabad, the Foreign Ministry said. The first session took place in Beijing in April 2013.

The three parties noted that the situation in Afghanistan, particularly in the run-up to 2014, had important bearing on regional peace and stability.

They agreed to enhance mutual consultations and cooperation on the developments in this regard, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Emphasizing the inextricable link between peace, security and development, they stressed the need for deeper engagement of the international community in the economic development of Afghanistan.

The visiting delegations noted the constructive engagement and increased high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Afghanistan and underlined the positive effect of this process on the regional environment.

In the regional context, the three parties agreed to strengthen the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Afghanistan. Russian and Pakistani delegations expressed their support to China's hosting of the Ministerial meeting of Istanbul Process in Tianjin in 2014.

The three countries agreed to hold the next round of Trilateral Dialogue in Moscow in the first half of 2014.

During the Dialogue, the Russian delegation was led by Ambassador Zamir Kabulov, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Afghanistan and the Chinese delegation by Huang Xilian, a Counselor in the Foreign Ministry's Asia Department. Additional Secretary Sohail Mahmood led the Pakistan side.

The visiting delegations also called on Foreign Secretary Jalail Abbas Jilani and discussed peace efforts in Afghanistan.




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