Pak-China-Afghan moot: Afghanistan stands to gain from CPEC, says Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has stressed peace and development in Afghanistan is important for overall regional development and said the war-ravaged country could gain from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

“Afghanistan can also benefit from multi-billion dollar CPEC and the Gwadar port,” Qureshi told reporters at the Noor Khan Airbase, ahead of the third round of China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue here on Saturday.

According to Radio Pakistan, the foreign minister termed the trilateral forum a “very significant one”. He said: The importance of this forum will further increase with the improvement of peace and security in Afghanistan, as it will open doors of economic activity and trade in the region.”

Later, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a meeting with Foreign Minister Qureshi at the Foreign Office, where they had discussions on bilateral relations and cooperation in diverse fields. Earlier, the Chinese foreign minister was received by Qureshi at the Noor Khan Airbase.

Chinese foreign minister Wang and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani were to lead their respective delegations during the trilateral meeting, the Foreign Office said a day earlier.