ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will leave for a three-day visit to Turkey from February 12 to 14 to attend the 8th trilateral summit being held in Ankara over issues related to Afghanistan.

A Foreign Office spokesperson, giving the details, said the trilateral summit will be attended by the leaders of Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Prime Minister would be accompanied by a high-level delegation, he added.

The Turkey-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral process was launched in 2007 and the last summit was also held in Ankara in December 2012.

It is an important platform for high-level dialogue, security cooperation, and economic development partnership on the issue of Afghanistan.

The theme of the 8th Trilateral Summit is “Sustainable Peace in the Heart of Asia”.

The summit is taking place in the backdrop of important political and security transitions in Afghanistan, including presidential and provincial council elections being held on April 5 this year and the draw-down of Nato forces by the end of 2014.

Prime Minister Sharif has articulated a forward-looking vision of a peaceful and prosperous neighbourhood, defined by close, cooperative relations with all neighbours, including Afghanistan, said the FO spokesperson.

“His participation in the Ankara Summit is part of the efforts to help strengthen the process of stabilisation in Afghanistan in concert with international partners.”

Pakistan has extended consistent support for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and remains committed to working with Afghanistan as well as the international community for sustainable peace, stability and development in Afghanistan, he said.

The Ankara trilateral summit would carry forward the process of constructive engagement and leadership exchanges on the evolving situation as well as matters of common interest.

During the summit, the Pakistani premier is set to have extensive interaction with Turkey's President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai.

Senior members of the prime minister's delegation will also have meetings with their respective counterparts in trilateral formats.

Separately, PM Nawaz Sharif will meet President Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan to review the wide spectrum of bilateral relations with focus on economic cooperation.

The prime minister will also meet with the heads of major Turkish companies in Istanbul, said the FO spokesperson.