Pakistan, Indonesia agree to work jointly for Afghan peace

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Indonesia on Friday agreed to work together for peace in Afghanistan, saying Afghan peace was necessary for the development and progress of the region.

This was agreed in a meeting between President Mamnoon Hussain and President of Indonesia Joko Widodo at the Aiwan-e-Sadr as the two leaders had one on one meeting followed by the delegation level meeting.

During the meeting, President Widodo said Indonesia thought that it could play a positive role in the peace process of Afghanistan. He commended Pakistan’s significant role in the peace process of Afghanistan and also proposed the establishment of a committee of Indonesian, Afghan and Pakistani Ulemas for this purpose. President Mamnoon Hussain also agreed to his proposal.

During the meeting, the two leaders also agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation to further strengthen the defence and trade relations. Both leaders stressed that expanded trade, investment and economic cooperation should be a vital element in their relationship.

President Mamnoon expressed satisfaction over the progress of defence relations between the two countries.

He expressed pleasure that activities under the bilateral defence agreement had been started. He hoped that the Joint Committee envisaged under the agreement would soon be formed and start implementing the provisions of the agreement.

The president said new initiatives of army to army and navy to navy talks and joint exercises would further boost the bilateral cooperation. Both the countries could utilize expertise of each other in defence production, he added.

President Mamnoon highlighted that excellent cooperation existed between Pakistan and Indonesia on international issues. He also thanked the Indonesian president for their support to Pakistan’s bid to become Full Dialogue Partner of ASEAN.