ISLAMABAD: Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held talks in Islamabad and agreed to enhance pragmatic cooperation in various fields.
During the meeting, Yi said China is willing to work with Pakistan to further synergise their development strategies, conduct systematic exchanges on governance experience and improve long-term cooperation plans.
Noting that the bilateral relations are at their best in history, Qureshi said during the meeting that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to China was very successful, and the leaders of the two countries have reached a large number of important consensus.
The friendship is the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy, he said, adding that as all-weather strategic partners, Pakistan and China have stood together through thick and thin, helped and supported each other, as well as stood firmly together at critical moments.
Pakistan stands ready to work with China to implement the consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries, and expand practical cooperation in various fields including agriculture, economy and trade, finance and information technology, Qureshi said, while calling for increased investment from China to help push Pakistan’s industrialisation process.
Yi said that the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership is unique and time-tested, and the two countries have become good neighbours, good friends, good partners and good brothers who trust each other.
The traditional friendship is rock-solid, which is a precious treasure for both sides, he added.
China hopes that Pakistan will get more deeply involved in China’s new development landscape with a further convergence of interests, Yi said.
China is willing to expand imports from Pakistan and support Chinese enterprises in investing in Pakistan, so as to help Pakistan enhance its capacity of independent development.
Earlier, Qureshi welcomed Yi to come over to attend the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying the first time participation by a Chinese foreign minister in the meeting is of historical significance, which shows China’s support for Pakistan and that Beijing attaches great importance to Islamic countries.
As an OIC founding member, Pakistan is willing to push the OIC to deepen its friendly ties with China, he said.
Yi congratulated Pakistan on its hosting the OIC foreign ministers’ meeting, saying this shows Pakistan’s role as a bridge between the Islamic world and the oriental civilisation.
Chinese foreign minister’s presence at the meeting at invitation demonstrates that China has high-level exchanges with the Islamic world and that it highly values strengthening relations with Islamic countries.
Under the current circumstances, it is of vital importance that Islamic countries enhance solidarity and collaboration, Yi said, adding that China is willing to play a constructive role in it.
Both sides spoke highly of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) program, saying it helps in Pakistan’s economic growth and transition.
The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on energy, transportation and infrastructure, among others, and promote the CPEC’s healthy, comprehensive, sustainable and high-quality development so that the CPEC can become an important engine for Pakistan’s economic advances.
The two sides agreed to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation, and firmly combat terrorist organisations such as the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, and establish new and upgraded security cooperation mechanisms using the handling of the Dasu terrorist attack case as an opportunity.
Qureshi said Pakistan gives priority to protecting the Chinese projects and personnel in the country, and will bring all perpetrators in the Dasu attack to justice and prevent such things from happening again.
Both sides agreed to enhance multilateral coordination, mutual support and cooperation on major international issues, strengthen the consensuses on global development, safeguard the common interests of developing countries and uphold the basic norms governing international relations, as well as equality and justice in the international arena.
They stressed the importance of the mechanism of coordination and cooperation among Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries, and pledged efforts towards more consensuses and results from the mechanism.
On the Ukraine issue, they expressed concerns about the spillover effect of unilateral sanctions, and the belief that the international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be observed, and called for a cease-fire realised through diplomatic dialogues.
The two sides expected the parties concerned to find a solution to the Ukraine issue based on the principle of indivisible security and set up a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in Europe.
After their talks, the two foreign ministers witnessed the signing of cooperation documents on agriculture, education and technology, and attended a joint press conference.
Yi arrived in Islamabad on Monday to attend the OIC session, and for a visit to Pakistan.
