PRESS RELEASE
China, Pakistan, Afghan Foreign Ministers Meet in Beijing; Offer Made to Afghanistan to Join in CEPC China-Pakistan Econ Corridor
Dec. 26, 2017 (EIRNS)—In the first-ever trilateral meeting, foreign ministers of China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan reaffirmed their commitment to improving their relations, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation, advancing connectivity under China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, and fighting terrorism in all its forms and manifestation without any distinction, PTI Islamabad reported today. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted the first China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue in Beijing with Afghanistan and Pakistan Foreign Ministers, respectively Salahuddin Rabbani and Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
In his proposal to extend their $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan, Wang, talking to the reporters, pointed to Afghanistan’s urgent need to develop and improve people’s lives, and his hopes it can join inter-connectivity initiatives.
"So China and Pakistan are willing to look at—with Afghanistan, on the basis of win-win—mutually beneficial principles, using an appropriate way,"
he said, Afghanistan’s TOLONews reported.
In his bilateral meeting with the Afghan Foreign Minister Rabbani, Wang said China hoped to synergize its development strategy for Afghanistan and expand bilateral cooperation. China expected to see a wide and inclusive political reconciliation process in Afghanistan, led and owned by the Afghan people, he said, Afghanistan’s Pajhwok reported. Rabbani, welcoming the proposal and hailing China as a reliable partner, said his country was ready to actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, and enhance cooperation with China in areas of inter-connectivity, infrastructure and energy.
