Afghan President to arrive Pakistan tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, accompanied by a high-level delegation including ministers, advisors, senior officials and businessmen will visit Pakistan on June 27 on the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

During his two-day visit, President Dr. Arif Alvi will have a meeting with President Ghani while Prime Minister Imran Khan will hold delegation-level talks.

“The wide-ranging talks between the two sides would focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation in diverse areas – including political, trade, economic, security, peace and reconciliation, education and people-to-people exchanges,” the Foreign Office in a press release on Wednesday said.

President Ghani will also travel to Lahore where he will participate in a business forum to be attended by business representatives from both countries.

“The people of Pakistan and Afghanistan are bound by fraternal ties reinforced by historical, religious, linguistic and cultural affinities. Closer engagement between the leaders will help foster a stronger and multi-faceted relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan,” it added.

It will be President Ghani’s third visit to Pakistan which follows the recently held first review session of the landmark Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS).

Other important bilateral exchanges in recent weeks included the telephonic call between President Ghani and Prime Minister Imran Khan, bilateral meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of OIC Summit in Makkah, and visits of Afghan National Security Adviser and minister for Refugees to Pakistan.

President Ghani had earlier undertaken a bilateral visit to Pakistan in November 2014 and subsequently, came to attend the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process (HoA) Ministerial Conference in Islamabad in December 2015.