Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has called for close coordination of Russian and China in negotiated political settlement of Afghan issue boiling again since the expedited withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.
The foreign minister expressed it during separate meetings with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and China’s Wang Yi on the sidelines of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Dushanbe.
Pakistan and Russia have agreed to work closely to further strengthen bilateral relations in all spheres.
Pleased to meet FM #SergeyLavrov & reiterated 🇵🇰 commitment to Russia, a partner with whom we look forward to forging a long-term and multi faceted relationship. Discussed the recent developments in Afghanistan & shared Pakistan’s support for an Afghan led & owned peace process. pic.twitter.com/MhNddNFlu9
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) July 14, 2021
Reaffirming strong desire to enhance bilateral relations, the two foreign ministers reviewed implementation status of the decisions taken during the Russian Foreign Minister’s visit to Pakistan in April this year.
The regional security situation, particularly Afghanistan also came under discussion.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi briefed his Russian counterpart on Pakistan’s constructive approach towards the Afghan peace process.
Reiterating continued support, the Foreign Minister emphasized close coordination between the two countries to help achieve negotiated political settlement.
Qureshi-Wang Meeting
Both high ups on Wednesday had in-depth discussion on the overall regional security situation, with particular focus on the evolving situation in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, there was a consensus that in view of the latest situation, close coordinated approach was extremely critical to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan.
They also took stock of existing fraternal ties with a view to further enhance cooperation in all areas of mutual interests, Foreign Office said in a statement issued here.
Foreign Minister Qureshi offered condolences on the tragic incident in which a bus carrying Chinese workers plunged into a ravine following a blast and had resulted in the loss of precious lives of Chinese workers and Pakistani nationals. He added that the investigations were underway.
Great to meet my brother, State Councilor & FM #WangYi as we celebrate 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations. We discussed CPEC as a transformational project on which 🇵🇰 🇨🇳 continue to work closely together to make a High-Quality Demonstration Project of BRI pic.twitter.com/ZHAfIDpcxs
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) July 14, 2021
He requested his Chinese counterpart to convey sentiments to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident.
He felicitated the Chinese Foreign Minister on centenary celebrations of the Communist Party of China and reaffirmed resolve to strengthen cooperation.
Foreign Minister Qureshi remarked that Pakistan and China are iron clad brothers. Both the countries share common understanding on various regional and international issues and had been supporting each other on issues of core interests.
The two Foreign Ministers agreed to continue close coordination and agreed to meet in near future.
