PM Imran to make maiden Kabul visit today

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will travel to Afghanistan’s capital Kabul today (Thursday) on his maiden visit to the neighbouring country since he assumed office. The day-long visit, on the invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, will focus on further deepening bilateral ties, Afghan peace process, and regional economic development and connectivity.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Adviser for Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood and senior officials will accompany the Prime Minister on the visit which is part of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries.

The PM’s programme includes tete-e-tete with President Ghani, delegation-level talks, and joint press stake-out. According to the Foreign Office the focus of the meeting would be on further deepening fraternal bilateral relations, Afghan peace process, and regional economic development and connectivity.

In the run-up to the Prime Minister’s visit, Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood visited Kabul on 16-18 November and held in-depth discussions on bilateral trade and investment ties and matters related to transit trade.

President Ghani last visited Pakistan in June 2019. Earlier, the two leaders had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 14th OIC Summit in Makkah in May 2019.

The Prime Minister also had a telephonic conversation with the Afghan President in September 2020. The Prime Minister’s visit builds on the sustained engagement between the two countries in recent months for enhancing bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.

In this context, besides Foreign Minister’s regular exchanges with his Afghan counterpart, there have recently been important visits from Afghanistan to Pakistan of Chairman High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Speaker Afghan Wolesi Jirga Rahman Rahmani, and Commerce Minister Nisar Ahmad Ghoraini.

On August 31, 2020, the Second Review Session of the Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) was held in Kabul. The Prime Minister’s visit will help foster a stronger and multi-faceted relationship between the two brotherly countries,” the Foreign Office said.