Wang Yi Holds Talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi

On March 21, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister held talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad.

Qureshi said, currently, Pakistan-China relations are at their best in history. Prime Minister Imran Khan's recent visit to China was very successful and the leaders of the two countries reached a lot of important consensus. Pakistan-China friendship serves as the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy. As all-weather strategic cooperative partners, the two countries have always stood together through thick and thin, rendered mutual assistance and mutual support, and stood firmly together at critical moments. Pakistan is ready to work with China to implement the important consensus between the leaders of the two countries, and expand practical cooperation in various fields such as agriculture, economy and trade, finance, and information technology. Pakistan expects China to increase investment in the country to help its industrialization process.

Wang Yi said, the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan is unique and long-tested, and we have become good neighbors, good friends, good partners and good brothers that trust each other. The traditional friendship between China and Pakistan, which is unbreakable and rock-solid, is a treasure for both sides to cherish. China hopes Pakistan will get more deeply involved in China's new development paradigm and seek closer integration of each other's interests. China is ready to work with Pakistan to further synergize development strategies, conduct systematic experience-sharing on state governance and improve long-term cooperation plans. China is ready to expand imports from Pakistan, support Chinese enterprises in investing in Pakistan, and help Pakistan improve its capability for self-driven and sustainable development.

Qureshi welcomed Wang Yi's attendance at the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Pakistan, saying that the attendance of Chinese Foreign Minister for the first time is of historic significance as it not only supports Pakistan but also shows the importance China attaches to Islamic countries. As a founding member of the OIC, Pakistan will continue to make efforts to deepen friendly relations between the OIC and China. Wang Yi congratulated Pakistan on hosting the session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, noting that this highlights Pakistan's role as a bridge between the Islamic world and oriental civilizations. The presence of Chinese Foreign Minister upon invitation is a testament to the high level of exchanges between China and the Islamic world and the great importance China attaches to strengthening relations with Islamic countries. Under the current circumstances, it is crucial for Islamic countries to strengthen solidarity and coordination, and China is ready to play a constructive role in this regard.

The two sides spoke highly of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which had facilitated Pakistan's economic growth and its transition towards geo-economics. Both sides agreed to take appropriate measures to make good use of existing resources while increasing additional resources, consolidate the cooperation results of major projects in energy, transportation and infrastructure, and promote sound, comprehensive, sustainable and high-quality development of the Corridor to turn it into an important engine of Pakistan's economic development. Meanwhile, the two sides should carry out more "small yet smart" programs to improve people's livelihood so that more Pakistani people will benefit from the friendship between China and Pakistan.

The two sides agreed to enhance security and counter-terrorism cooperation, resolutely crack down on the "Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement" and other terrorist organizations, and jointly cope with the resurgence of terrorism. The two sides need to take the response to the Dasu terrorist attack as an opportunity to formulate new whole-process security measures and establish an advanced security cooperation mechanism. Qureshi said that safeguarding the security of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan is the country's top priority. Pakistan will bring the perpetrators of the Dasu terrorist attack to justice and prevent similar events from happening again.

The two sides agreed to continue to strengthen multilateral coordination, support and cooperate with each other on major international issues and build international consensus on development to safeguard the common interests of developing countries, the fundamental rules governing international relations and international fairness and justice.

Both sides highly recognized the importance of the mechanism of coordination and cooperation among Afghanistan's neighboring countries and committed themselves to building more consensus and creating more achievements through this mechanism.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukrainian issue and expressed concerns over the spillover effects of unilateral sanctions. Both sides believed that all parties must uphold international law and the purpose of the UN Charter and called for a ceasefire through diplomatic dialogues. China and Pakistan hope that, based on the principle of indivisible security, a fundamental solution to the Ukrainian issue will be found to create a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture.

After the meeting, the two sides attended the signing ceremony of agricultural, educational, scientific and technological cooperation documents and met the press together.