BEIJING: Foreign Mini­ster Khawaja Muhammad Asif is set to arrive in Beijing on Monday (today) to attend a trilateral dialogue between the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The foreign minister will be visiting China on the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, official sources confirmed on Sunday.

The trilateral dialogue — the first of its kind since the three countries agreed to establish a mechanism in June, will be held in the Chinese capital on Tuesday to discuss development, security and counterterrorism.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, the three foreign ministers will have an in-depth exchange on political mutual trust and reconciliation, development and connectivity, security cooperation and counterterrorism.

She said as a common neighbour and friend of Afghanistan and Pakistan, China has always supported the friendly cooperation between the two countries and their common development.

“In June this year, the Chinese foreign minister conducted a shuttle diplomacy between the two countries and three sides agreed to establish a dialogue mechanism for foreign ministers and set up a platform for enhancing tripartite dialogue and cooperation,” she added.

The Chinese side hopes that the dialogue will promote trilateral cooperation and enhance peace, stability and development in the region.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2017