Pakistan, China, Afghanistan Pledge Stronger Counterterrorism Cooperation

The 6th trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of the three countries was held in Kabul

Wed Aug 20 2025
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KEY POINTS

  • China, Pakistan and Afghanistan reaffirm commitment to expand cooperation in trade, transit, and regional development.
  • The three sides agree on the extension of the CPEC project to Afghanistan
  • They stress stronger relations between the three countries in the political, economic and transit sectors.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, China and Afghanistan on Wednesday agreed to intensify joint efforts against terrorism while also reaffirming their commitment to expand cooperation in trade, transit, regional development, and the extension of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan.

The consensus was reached at the Sixth Trilateral Foreign Ministers Dialogue held in Kabul on Wednesday.

The trilateral summit was attended by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi.

The talks focused on political, economic, trade, transit, and security cooperation between the three countries.

“The three sides committed to strengthening joint efforts against terrorism,” the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a post on X.

The Foreign Office further stated that the three sides also reaffirmed their commitment to deepening collaboration in trade, transit, regional development, health, education, culture, and combating drug trafficking, as well as, extension of CPEC to Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the trilateral meeting reviewed the decisions of previous meetings and emphasised the strengthening of relations between the three countries in the political, economic and transit sectors.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister also hold a bilateral meeting with the Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan to discuss bilateral matters between both countries.

“Both ministers expressed satisfaction with the positive trajectory of bilateral relations between their countries. They welcomed the recent elevation of diplomatic representation between the two countries from Chargé d’Affaires to Ambassadorial level, as agreed during the Trilateral Meeting in Beijing on 21 May 2025,” a Foreign Office statement said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has arrived in Kabul from New Delhi, where he was on an official visit.

The last round of talks was held in Beijing in May this year.

Islamabad visit

Later in the evening, the Chinese foreign minister would arrive in Islamabad on a two-day official visit.

On Thursday, the sixth round of the China-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue will take place in Islamabad.

Expanding mining cooperation

Earlier today, the Chinese Foreign Minister met with his Afghan counterpart in Kabul and discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors, particularly in mining.

According to a statement from the Afghan Foreign Ministry, Wang Yi and Muttaqi discussed cooperation across multiple sectors and ways to strengthen ties between the two nations.

Muttaqi described ties with China as “progressing” and said that Kabul considers China “a good trading partner,” as the bilateral trade had reached $1 billion.

ALSO READ: China, Afghanistan Hold Talks on Expanding Mining Cooperation

He made “practical proposals” regarding the expansion of economic cooperation between Afghanistan and China, particularly in the areas of transportation, banking, and balancing trade, said the statement.

Muttaqi “once again emphasised that Afghanistan’s soil will never be used against its neighbors.”

According to the Afghan statement, Wang described ties with Kabul as “progressing and considered the expansion of cooperation in various fields noteworthy.”

“The relevant institutions of both countries are working to further increase Afghanistan’s exports to China,” Wang said, adding Beijing is eager to support the Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI).

“Mr. Wang Yi also mentioned that China intends to initiate practical mining activities this year,” it said.

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