Pakistan, China, Afghanistan commit to stronger economic, security ties

• China’s special envoy also attends talks hosted by Muttaqi. 
• It was the first trilateral meeting of three nations in Kabul.
• All three sides review progress on commitments made earlier.

PESHAWAR: Pakistan, China and Afghanistan committed to stronger economic ties in a trilateral meeting hosted by the Afghan interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul, The News reported on Sunday. 

Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq said the trilateral conference on Saturday concentrated on the region's economic and security prospects.

Participants of the meeting committed to strengthening cooperation across a number of other areas as well, Sadiq added.

The gathering was held to mark the fresh round of negotiations under the trilateral dialogue framework between China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, which was established in 2017 with the goals of fostering economic integration, counterterrorism coordination, and political confidence.

Afghanistan’s acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Muttaqi hosted the talks, while Special Envoy to Afghanistan Yue Xiaoyong represented China at the meeting.

“The first meeting of the Pakistan-China-Afghanistan trilateral in Kabul today... provided the occasion for convergence of views on economic and security cooperation as well as regional stability,” special envoy Sadiq said in a post on social media platform X.

All three sides reviewed progress on commitments made during the last dialogue and agreed to convene the sixth round of foreign ministers’ meeting in Kabul at a future date, according to a report published by Afghanistan’s Ariana News.