Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed the evolving situation in the region, particularly the grave humanitarian situation in Afghanistan on Sunday.
The minister held a meeting with State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to China, along with Prime Minister Imran Khan and other dignitaries, to attend the 24th Olympic Winter Games.
During the meeting, the two agreed to maintain closer coordination in promoting the shared objectives of peace, stability, connectivity and development in Afghanistan.
Both sides also appreciated the important role played by Afghanistan’s six neighbouring countries in evolving regional consensus and expressed optimism for its third summit in China.
Earlier today, FM Qureshi inaugurated a por-tal for Pakistani students and professionals in China.
The portal is an initiative of the Pakistan embassy in China and will serve as a “platform of engagement, communication, a space for sharing research ideas [and] success stories.
While addressing the media in Islamabad af-ter his return from China, Qureshi said, “We are encouraged and received warmth more than our expectations.China has a clear direction in which Pakistan has a prominent position.”
The foreign minister said, “Without any hesi-tation, I want to say that these meetings were held extensively and with much clarity.”
Over Afghanistan, both the countries shared unanimous opinion.
Pakistan’s contributions towards Afghan humanitarian assistance were acknowledged by China, he said, adding that the Chinese leadership viewed the holding of the extraordinary meeting of OIC on Afghanistan as a successful one.
The foreign minister informed that during the meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, they agreed to meet again in Beijing in March.
The immediate neighbours of Afghanistan would be invited to a meeting including Iran, Uzbeki-stan, Tajikistan and others.
He said Pakistan, China and Afghanistan were members of a trilateral forum which would be further strengthened for coordination over Af-ghanistan.
Referring to India, the foreign minister said that they were concerned over treatment of mi-norities, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Dalits as their human rights were being trampled.
