BEIJING: Terming the second China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue held in Kabul a great success, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday said that China would remain in close contact with the two sides to implement the agreements made during the dialogue.
“We believe the meeting is a great success. We will remain in close contact with the two sides to implement these relevant agreements,” Hua Chunying said during his regular briefing.
She said that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the dialogue held in Kabul and later, he met with the press and talked about the outcome of the meeting.
The spokesperson said that while summarising, the foreign minister said, firstly, the three sides agreed to make use of the foreign ministers’ dialogue and relevant mechanisms to strengthen coordination and communication in planning and promoting trilateral cooperation in various fields. Secondly, amid important opportunities in Afghanistan’s reconciliation process, the three sides are willing to strengthen coordination and push for Taliban’s early return to the negotiation table and reintegration into mainstream politics.
Afghanistan is willing to continue to push forward the peace plan and push for the resuming of the peace talks, while China and Pakistan firmly support the inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process.
Thirdly, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to further improve bilateral ties, implement the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity, boost positive interactions in political, military, economic and security fields, handle disputes through friendly consultation, and properly manage temporarily intractable differences to avoid undermining the improvement of the bilateral ties. Fourthly, the three sides committed to a tightened trilateral cooperation, promising to explore possibilities for projects regarding people’s livelihood and transportation infrastructures on the basis of personnel exchanges and training. Fifthly, the three sides agreed to promote the construction of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in a bid to boost regional connectivity and economic development.
Pakistan and China supported Afghanistan to make itself a regional pivot by giving a full play of its geographical advantages and to benefit from regional cooperative projects, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Sixthly, the three sides also agreed to implement the newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on counter-terrorism, enhance dialogues on counter-terrorism policies and push forward pragmatic counter-terrorism cooperation, while taking a strong and firm stand against terrorist organizations, including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement.
China would offer support and help to Afghanistan and Pakistan regarding counter-terrorism causes and cooperation.