Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday arrived in Turkey on a two-day official visit on the invitation of Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
Deputy Governor Istanbul Kamal Annan, Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkey Syrus Qazi and senior officials of embassy received the foreign minister at Istanbul airport.
During the visit, the Foreign Minister will have bilateral talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. He will also participate in a trilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Turkey and Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said.
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The meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also expected.
During the bilateral talks, the two Foreign Ministers will review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and discuss preparations for the 7th Session of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC), which will be held in Turkey this year. The two sides will also discuss the regional security situation.
In the trilateral meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Afghanistan, the Foreign Minister will discuss the latest developments in the Afghan peace process, exchange views on achieving the shared objectives of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process and highlight Pakistan’s valuable efforts towards this end.
The joint statement also said the ministers also recognized the importance of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) as a substantial platform that contributes to regional stability in fields ranging from political and security cooperation to economic integration.
A common will to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations has also been reiterated in the statement.
The trilateral meeting also “acknowledged the role of the regional and neighboring countries, in particular, Pakistan and Iran in hosting Afghan refugees for more than four decades and called for creating conducive conditions in Afghanistan for their voluntary, safe, dignified, expeditious and sustainable repatriation through a well-resourced plan,” it added.
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Ankara, Islamabad and Kabul urged the international community to continue to assist host countries in taking care of the essential needs of Afghan refugees and to provide support to the repatriation and reintegration efforts of the Afghan government.
The ministers expressed their determination to enhance cooperation on regional connectivity in transport, trade, energy, people-to-people contacts, education, social and cultural exchange, and tourism.
Courtesy: APP