The Foreign Secretary reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further deepen close brotherly relations with Afghanistan based on mutual trust to the benefit of the two peoples, the Foreign Office said in a statement issued on the conclusion of meeting.
The Pakistan side reiterated its commitment to a peaceful, stable, united and prosperous Afghanistan, at peace within and at peace with its neighbours.
Pakistan also emphasized that durable peace and stability could be achieved only through an inclusive, Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process.
During the meeting, the five Working Groups, led by their respective chairs, reviewed progress made in their areas. Action plans for future cooperation with focus on further expanding existing cooperation among relevant institutions were also discussed.
In this regard, the importance of enhancing linkages in the political, diplomatic, security, trade, economic, cultural, educational, sports and people-to-people domains was underscored.
It was agreed that APAPPS was the best forum to overcome common challenges and to take bilateral relations to the next level.
Closer cooperation through other established institutional mechanisms, including Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority and Joint Economic Commission, was also underlined in order to realize the rich potential of the two countries to advance the objectives of economic development and long-term prosperity.
The APAPPS was established in May 2018 to provide a comprehensive and structured framework for institutional engagement in diverse areas of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The framework comprises five Working Groups focused on politico-diplomatic, military-to-military coordination, intelligence cooperation, economy and refugee issues.