Chinese ambassador says cooperation between three neighbours to benefit region
Cooperation among China, Afghanistan and Pakistan will benefit the region and special emphasis should be given to building mutual trust and friendly consultations between these countries should be encouraged to promote cooperation, said Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong on Sunday during his keynote address on the opening day of Pakistan-China-Afghanistan trilateral dialogue. A collective regional approach toward countering issues and meeting challenges was emphasised by diplomats, scholars and researchers at the dialogue.
Thanking Pakistan-China Institute Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed and German political foundation Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), Pakistan, Resident Representative Ronny Heine for jointly organizing the two-day international conference, Ambassador Weidong said that both Afghanistan and Pakistan were close neighbouring countries and were good neighbours to China.
“It’s timely and important conference,” Afghan Ambassador Janan Musa Musazai said while thanking Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung for organizing the dialogue. “We look forward to welcoming the next round of trilateral dialogue in Afghanistan,” Ambassador Musazai said in response to Mushahid’s earlier announcement regarding the next trilateral conference in Kabul.
The first round of the trilateral dialogue was held in Beijing in 2013. After this going conference the third session of trilateral dialogue will be held in Afghanistan.
Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz will address the concluding session of the conference on Monday. “It’s a unique opportunity for us to extend cooperation and tackle common threats and challenges together and achieve common goal of security, stability and prosperity.” the Afghan envoy said.
Ambassador Sun Weidong emphasized building mutual trust and friendly consultations between the two countries should be encouraged to promote cooperation. Assuring cooperation in all avenues while highlighting three key threats: terrorism, extremism and narcotics, the Chinese envoy said “China is also ready to extend cooperation in this regard to Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
Highlighting the need to uphold the sovereignty, integrity and security of Afghanistan, Ambassador Weidong welcomed international community to help Afghanistan improve its security situation.
“China believes that national reconciliation is inevitable for Afghanistan to achieve its objectives,” the Chinese envoy stressed saying that China was traditionally friendly neighbour of Afghanistan, and it respects independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan.
China was the biggest neighbour to both Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Weidong said. “China is devoted for the early settlement of Afghan issue. We have taken an active part.”
The Afghan envoy was grateful that President Mamnoon Hussain attended Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s ceremony of ascending to his office and to Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security, Sartaj Aziz, who was currently visiting Kabul.
Ambassador Musazai said “Afghanistan and Pakistan are natural friends and partners joined by inseparable bonds.” He also talked about building Peshawar-Jalalabad and Chaman-Qandhar railways lines to bring both countries further closer.
According credit to former Afghan President Hamed Karzai, the envoy said that Karzai government laid foundation to lasting friendship with China, which was the largest investor in Afghanistan.
Ambassador Musazai said that the new government in Afghanistan would
further develop the three main key policy objectives that continuing for past 13 years, transforming Afghanistan from a failed state to functioning democracy, broadening and strengthening relations in the region, and working with closet neighbours in strengthening the bilateral and multilateral relations.
Earlier, in his welcome address the senator said “our destinies are interlinked,” adding with NATO and the United States receding in the region, the destinies of Asia should be decided by Asians. Highlighting Germany’s role in developing Afghanistan, the Senator said “Germany has good vision for Asia.”
He said “in two days we will have good brainstorming and will come up with specific policy recommendations which will be doable and promote cooperation amongst the three neighbors in concrete areas.”
Thanking the Senator for taking the initiative in holding the conference, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Resident Representative in Pakistan, Ronny Heine said “China, Afghanistan and Pakistan can play an effective role, as key events are taking place in the emerging Afghanistan.”
The session reviewing the current outlook for Afghanistan was chaired by Prof Li Xiguang, DirectorPakistanStudyCenter, TsinghuaUniversity, Beijing.
The new relations with China would create a new look in relations with Pakistan. Both countries would give a new prosperous phase to the region said Dr Farouq Azam, Chairman, Movement for Peaceful Transformation of Afghanistan. “Let us act now,” he said.
Eminent scholar and political analyst Dr. Hasan Askari Rizvi observed that there was greater potential for increasing cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan. “They cannot function in isolation,” Dr Rizvi said and emphasized need for developing economic power and societal linkages, which were very strong between both the countries.
Presenting NATO’s perspective, Director School of Politics & International Relations at Quaid-e-AzamUniversity, Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal highlighted an emerging opportunity for both Afghanistan and Pakistan with a reduced American presence in the region.
The session on Changing Regional Context was chaired by Ambassador Khalid Mehmood, Chairman, Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad. In the presentation on Cooperation in Countering Terrorism, Amir Rana, Director Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), raised a question as how to deal with regrouping of militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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