Photo courtesy Foreign Office
Pakistan, China and Afghanistan on Monday issued a joint statement after the weekend’s fifth trilateral foreign ministers’ dialogue in Islamabad, reaffirming their commitment to boost cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan.
Stressing that existing projects such as CASA-1000, TAPI, and Trans-Afghan Railways would enhance regional connectivity as well as ensure economic uplift and prosperity for the peoples of this region, the three sides emphasized advancing “hard connectivity” in infrastructure and “soft connectivity” in norms and standards. They also pledged to further explore measures to facilitate the movement of people and trade activities between the three countries, adding transit trade through Gwadar Port should be enhanced.
According to the statement, the three sides agreed to conduct exchange and training programs and to strengthen people-to-people exchanges by conducting trilateral programs in line with the list of practical cooperation projects adopted by the foreign ministers in the dialogue. “The three sides reaffirmed to continue cooperation in areas of mutual interest like economic development, capacity building, and improving livelihoods,” it said, adding it had also been decided to boost cooperation in agriculture, trade, energy, capacity building, border management etc.
Attended by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Afghan acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, the dialogue stressed that a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan would benefit the region, adding that trilateral cooperation was critical to promote this objective. “The three sides resolved to further deepen and expand their cooperation in the security, development and political domains based on the principles of mutual respect, equal-footed consultation and mutual benefit,” read the statement.
During the meeting, the three sides emphasized the need to tackle security challenges posing threats to regional and global security, and directly impacting regional stability and economic prosperity. In this regard, they agreed to coordinate and cooperate on security, organized crimes, drugs smuggling and urged the global community to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and provide necessary supplies, equipment and technical assistance. All three participants also stressed on not permitting any individual, group or party, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement etc., to use their territories to harm and threaten regional security and interests, or conduct terrorist actions and activities. “All three sides underscored the need to refrain from intervening into internal affairs of Afghanistan, and to promote Afghan peace, stability and reconstruction,” it added.
On the Afghan economy, the ministers called for exploring realistic pathways to revive it and agreed to consider supporting the reconstruction of Afghanistan and exploring trilateral investment possibilities aimed at industrialization and job creation. Expressing solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, the three sides stressed the importance of sustained and urgent humanitarian support to the people of Afghanistan including the imperative to bridge funding gaps for humanitarian operations. The ministers also noted that humanitarian support for Afghans must not be linked to political considerations.
Urging the international community to engage constructively with Afghanistan, they acknowledged efforts from its countries to promote dialogue and constructive engagement with the Interim Afghan government. The three sides also urged the global community to assist Afghanistan in countering narcotics effectively and develop alternative crops to enhance its capacity for independent and sustainable development. They stressed on lifting unilateral sanctions against Afghanistan and returning assets parked overseas for the benefit of the Afghan people, and creating opportunities for economic development and prosperity.
Taking note of the Afghan Interim government’s repeated assurances to respect and protect women’s rights and interests, the three sides called on the international community to support the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, and help Afghanistan improve governance and strengthen its capacity building to effectively protect the basic rights and interests of all segments of Afghan society.
The Afghan and Chinese ministers appreciated Pakistan for its generous hospitality in hosting millions of Afghan refugees, and called on the international community to provide necessary support and assistance to all host nations and Afghanistan for the dignified return and reintegration of refugees into Afghan society. All three countries also resolved to continue the trilateral cooperation mechanism, including the director-general Level Practical Cooperation Dialogue, and forge closer-good neighborly relations and partnership.