ALI HUSSAIN
ISLAMABAD: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Saturday arrived in Islamabad on a two-day official visit as part of the Chinese government’s initiative to revive the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) process aimed at bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong received the Chinese foreign minister and a nine-member delegation at Nur Khan Airbase.
After holding talks with Pakistani authorities in his two-day visit, Foreign Minister Wang will also visit Afghanistan to hold talks with Afghan leadership on the revival of the QCG process.
Delegation-level talks were held at the Foreign Office in which Pakistan’s side was led by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz while Wang headed his country’s delegation in talks. Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua assisted the adviser while Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Sun was also present in the meeting.
The Foreign Office sources said that entire gamut of bilateral relations and regional situation was discussed during the meeting.
They said that detailed discussions were held on the Afghan peace process and the QCG mechanism and the two sides extended their support to the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process.
The Chinese foreign minister, according to sources, said the QCG process is an appropriate platform to this end and also expressed his country’s support to the process.
The two sides also agreed that the only solution to the Afghan conflict is to bring the warring groups to the negotiation table to ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region.
The sources said the two sides also discussed the situation following the Untied States recused itself from playing any further role in the QCG process.
Talking about the visit, Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said during his weekly media briefing on Thursday last that China is an important partner in efforts to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan.
“Both China and Pakistan are working closely under the initiatives like QCG, Heart of Asia Istanbul process, etc, which are aimed at bringing lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan,” he said.
Besides discussing Afghanistan in the context of regional cooperation for security and development, he said, both sides will also review state of bilateral relations and discuss all issues of mutual interest including the regional situation.
