BONN, Dec 3: Foreign Minister Mian Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri has assured the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, of Pakistan’s willingness to cooperate in its reconstruction during a meeting here.

The foreign minister, who is in Petersberg near Bonn to attend the Conference on “Rebuilding Afghanistan,” also held a series of meetings with other leaders attending the conference.

Kasuri conveyed the greetings of the president and the prime minister of Pakistan to the Afghan president during his call on Monday and assured him of Islamabad’s readiness to cooperate with Kabul in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Karzai reciprocated the brotherly sentiment expressed by Mr Kasuri. He said Afghanistan attached great importance to cordial relations between the two countries.

President Karzai called for closer economic and commercial ties between the two countries.

The foreign minister also met here with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, UN Special Representatives Lakhdar Brahimi and Javier Solana, EU Secretary-General and High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy.

The foreign minister’s talks with Kamal Kharrazi covered bilateral relations and regional situation. The two foreign ministers stressed their mutual desire to take concrete steps to strengthen economic cooperation between Pakistan and Iran.

Kasuri and Lakhdar Brahimi discussed the UN role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Kasuri assured him of Pakistan’s support in this regard.

The talks between Kasuri and Jack Straw covered the situation in South Asia. The forthcoming Saarc summit to be held in Islamabad next month also came under discussion.

Pakistan-EU ties and Afghanistan were the main subjects discussed by the foreign minister in his meeting with Solana. Solana was in Islamabad last July and is expected to pay another visit to Pakistan early next year. —APP