Ahead of Chinese Foreign Minister (FM) Qin Gang’s first official visit to Pakistan, which will begin on Friday and last two days, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the meeting will promote practical cooperation between the two sides.
Chinese FM’s Pakistan Visit
The spokesperson said Qin will meet with Pakistani PM Shebaz Sharif and co-chair the fourth round of their Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The two sides will discuss “bilateral relations and the international and regional situation.”
The spokesperson reiterated that the two countries are “all-weather strategic cooperative partners and ironclad friends,” and that their friendship “is time honoured.”
“China hopes that this visit will follow through on the important common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, further deepen strategic communication and practical cooperation...and contribute energy to the region and the wider world.”
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang will visit Pakistan from May 5 to 6 and attend the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers' Dialogue in Pakistan, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced on Thursday https://t.co/rUFTYLHqhz pic.twitter.com/Hw0qs4k88V
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) May 4, 2023
Qin’s visit to the country comes after Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif visited China in November. In addition, Chinese President Xi Jinping also spoke to his counterpart on 27 April. In this light, the spokesperson said the visit is “an important part” of the recent “close and frequent” high-level interactions between the two sides.
China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Meeting
The two sides are also expected to chair the fifth meeting on Afghanistan, called the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue.
Noting that Afghanistan has “tided over the most difficult time” but still faces “severe challenges” and is “in dire need of more support and help from the rest of the world,” the spokesperson said that the international community needs “to step up contact and dialogue with the Afghan interim government, support its effort of reconstruction and development, and encourage it to build an inclusive government, exercise moderate governance, develop friendly relations with its neighbours and firmly fight terrorism.”
“China hopes to exchange views with Afghanistan and Pakistan on the situation in Afghanistan and tri-party cooperation at the Dialogue, so as to build up consensus, consolidate mutual trust, and jointly contribute to peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region,” the spokesperson added.
India
Qin is also meeting Indian FM S. Jaishankar in Goa today, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Corporation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ Meet.