WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: As the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is currently in Islamabad on a two-day official visit, the United States has welcomed his visit to Pakistan and the prospects for improved ties between the two neighbors.
“We welcome the prospect of improved cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan,” the US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said at a daily press briefing.
The state department spokesperson said that the visit provides a “good opportunity for dialogue” between the two countries.
The Afghan president accompanied by a 30-member delegation arrived in Islamabad on Friday morning on a two-day official visit to Pakistan, hoping that his visit will help expand bilateral relations as well as peace and stability in the region.
Following his arrival, the Afghan president held a meeting with the prime minister’s adviser on national security and foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and the finance minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad and had a discussion on ways and means to further expand bilateral relations in diverse fields.
During the meeting, two sides agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in economic and trade relations to the benefit of the two countries.
The Afghan president also visited the army’s general headquarters in Rawalpindi and called on the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif. The two sides discussed bilateral security issues and defence cooperation.
The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the Afghan president assured Pakistan of his country’s full cooperation to jointly curb the menace of terrorism during his meeting with the army chief.
Later, the Afghan president held a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Mamnoon Hussain in Islamabad and discussed the whole gamut of issues ranging from bilateral relations to further cementing mutual cooperation.
President Mamnoon assured the Afghan president that Pakistan would continue to fully support a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. Mamnoon Hussain said that terrorism is a common enemy and the two sides must make joint efforts to defeat it.
