Asia - Pacific

Uzbekistan to host meeting on Afghanistan's neighbors on Thursday

Diplomats from 7 countries neighboring Afghanistan expected to attend meeting in Samarkand

Aamir Latif  | 12.04.2023 - Update : 12.04.2023
Uzbekistan to host meeting on Afghanistan's neighbors on Thursday

KARACHI, Pakistan

The 4th meeting of the Neighbouring Countries of Afghanistan will be held in Uzbekistan on Thursday.

Senior diplomats of the seven neighboring countries including Pakistan, Iran, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, will gather in Samarkand to discuss ways of evolving a regional approach on the ongoing situation in the war-torn country.

Foreign Minister Qin Gang will lead the Chinese delegation.

"At the invitation of the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang will attend the fourth Foreign Ministers’ Meeting among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and visit Uzbekistan from April 12 to 13," said a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

Pakistan's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, will lead the Pakistani delegation in the meeting, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Khar will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of other participating delegations.

The Neighbouring Countries of Afghanistan mechanism was established in 2021 on Pakistan’s initiative with a view to evolving a regional approach on the situation in Afghanistan.

Pakistan hosted the first meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Neighbouring Countries on 8 September 2021, and participated in the second meeting held in Tehran, Iran in November 2021, and the third meeting held in Tunxi, China in March 2022.

"The mechanism will contribute towards forging a consensus among the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, who are the most direct stakeholders of the situation in Afghanistan," the statement added.

Pakistan said it will continue to support all efforts to "advance the shared objectives of a peaceful, stable, sovereign, prosperous and connected Afghanistan."

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