ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi Saturdayreiterated Pakistan’s support for the Afghan National Unity Government’sefforts to bring lasting peace in Afghanistan.-
He assured the Afghan leadership that Pakistan, along with other partners,was ready to play a constructive role in facilitating an Afghan-led andAfghan-owned peace process and reconciliation.
The foreign minister led a high level official delegation on his maidenforeign visit to Kabul.
During the visit, he met Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and ChiefExecutive Dr Abdullah Abdullah and held delegation level talks with hisAfghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani.
“The visit provided an opportunity to set out the contours of the newgovernment’s future engagement with Afghanistan to build mutuallybeneficial relationship and enhance cooperation between the two countries,”the Foreign Office in a press statement said.
During his visit, Qureshi conveyed to the Afghan leadership that the newgovernment attached importance to its relations with Afghanistan and wouldwork towards further deepening cooperation in the fields of tradedevelopment and connectivity.
The foreign minister handed over a letter from Prime Minister Imran Khanaddressed to the Afghan President marking the first consignment of 40,000tonnes of wheat gifted to the Afghan people.
He underscored the importance of cooperation and coordination between thetwo countries in the areas of counter-terrorism and security and offered totrain Afghan police and law enforcement agencies in Pakistani institutions.
The Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS)provided the most useful platform to deliver the objectives, he added.
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Qureshi also underlined the importance of frequent high level engagementsbetween the two countries that had contributed in building trust andimproving mutual understanding.
He emphasized to maintain the upward trajectory in bilateral relationsthrough more high level visits during the upcoming months. He also invitedPresident Ghani to visit Pakistan.
In the context of enhancing trade between the two countries, Pakistan haddecided to waive off regulatory duty on imports from Afghanistan. As aresult Afghan exports to Pakistan have recorded substantial increase of 118percent in 2018.
The minister said Pakistan would fast-track steps, includingstandardization and automation of custom procedures, up-gradation ofinfrastructure at crossing points between the two countries. For the secondphase of 3000 scholarships, more than 600 scholarships had already beengranted and Afghan students would start their semester next fall.
The two foreign ministers took decisions on four meetings, includinghosting of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC), to convene the meeting ofAfghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority (APTTCA), meetingof the Steering Committee of the Joint Ulema Conference and the meeting ofthe working groups of APAPPS.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi highlighted the unmatched hospitalityextended by the people of Pakistan for their Afghan brothers and sisters,and underlined the need for dignified, sustainable and repatriation ofAfghan refugees to their homeland through a gradual and time-bound plan.
They also agreed to expedite matters related to providing necessarysecurity to Pakistan Consulate General in Jalalabad to ensure its earlyoperationalization.
