Kabul – *Afghanistan and Pakistan on Sunday held the inaugural meetings ofthe Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) inKabul, both sides said in a joint statement on Sunday evening. *

According to the statement, a Pakistani delegation met the Afghandelegation in Kabul. Following the APAPPS meeting, the five Working Groupsthat will implement APAPPS, held their respective meetings and discussedmutual issues of concern.

The Afghan delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat KhalilKarzai and the Pakistani delegation was led by Foreign Secretary TehminaJanjua, the statement said.

“Afghanistan and Pakistan today held inaugural meetings of the five WorkingGroups (WGs) under the Afghanistan and Pakistan Action Plan for Peace andSolidarity (APAPPS) in Kabul,” read the statement.

According to the statement, the 28-member multi-departmental high-leveldelegation chaired by Janjua arrived in Kabul early Sunday.

The Pakistani delegation includes representatives from different agenciesincluding foreign ministry, commerce, railways, communications, interiorministry, military and intelligence, read the statement.

The APAPPS is a bilateral framework between Afghanistan and Pakistan forenhancing cooperation and coordination between the two nations includingreducing hostility by employing working groups on both sides.

“The APAPPS framework provides a comprehensive and structured mechanism toenhance engagement between counterpart institutions of the two countries.APAPPS is comprised of five Working Groups on Politico-diplomatic,Military, Intelligence, Economic and Trade and Refugees issues,” read thestatement.

“Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary of Pakistan led theirrespective sides in the politico-diplomatic WG besides co-chairing theopening and closing sessions of the APAPPS,” the statement said.

According to the statement, at the inaugural meeting of the Working Groups,the Afghan and Pakistani delegations assessed prospects for the APAPPS formthat covers all mutual interests including anti-terror and security, peaceand reconciliation, bilateral trade and transit, connectivity, Afghanrefugees repatriation and promoting people to people contact.

Following APAPPS inaugural session, the five Working Groups held theirrespective group meetings and discussed Terms of Reference for futureactions and the agenda for their next round of meetings which will be heldin Islamabad, read the statement.