BEIJING: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a meeting with State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi today in Beijing. The Foreign Minister is accompanying the Prime Minister on a visit to China to attend the 24th Olympic Winter Games.
The Foreign Minister congratulated his Chinese counterpart on the successful hosting of the Winter Olympics and conveyed his best wishes on the Chinese Lunar New Year. Recalling their last meeting in Chengdu for the 3rd round of Pakistan-China Strategic Dialogue, the Foreign Minister appreciated the measures taken by the two sides to strengthen the All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership between Pakistan and China. He thanked his counterpart for China’s firm support to Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and national development, and reaffirmed Pakistan’s full support to China on all issues of its core interest.
The Foreign Minister underlined that the Prime Minister’s face-to-face meetings with the Chinese leadership would provide fresh momentum to the bilateral strategic cooperative partnership, add new avenues to practical cooperation, spur high quality development of CPEC including industrial development, and develop greater synergies between the visions of geo-economics and Global Development Initiative.
The two Foreign Ministers also discussed the evolving situation in the region and beyond, in particular the grave humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Qureshi briefed State Councillor Wang on the gross human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and systemic assaults on the freedoms of minorities in India.
On Afghanistan, both sides appreciated the important role played by the meeting of the six neighbouring countries in evolving regional consensus and looked forwarded to its third meeting to be held in China. It was agreed to maintain closer coordination to promote the shared objectives of peace, stability and development in Afghanistan and regional connectivity.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022