ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will undertake a day-long visit to Kabul on Friday, aimed at strengthening the positive momentum in Pak-Afghan bilateral relations and help augment joint endeavours in the pursuit of durable peace, stability and economic prosperity in the two Countries and the region.
The Afghan President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani had formally invited the prime minister to visit Kabul, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office in Islamabad on Thursday.
The prime minister’s visit is taking place in the backdrop of Pakistan’s support to President Ashraf Ghani’s offer of peace talks with the Taliban for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and strengthening bilateral engagement.
The statement said the prime minister will have in-depth consultations in Kabul with the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the Afghan Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah on matters of mutual interest including strengthening bilateral political, economic, security and counter-terrorism cooperation, return of Afghan refugees, combating drug production and narco-trade, Afghan peace process and regional political and security situation.
The prime minister will also meet senior Afghan political leaders.
“Pakistan will continue to support Afghanistan’s developments efforts through capacity building in infrastructure, educational and health sectors in Afghanistan. Pakistan also aspires to deepen people to people contacts,” the foreign office statement said.
In this regard, the statement said that, the prime minister would discuss with the Afghan leadership ways to facilitate travel between the two Countries, assist education and medical treatment of Afghan nationals in Pakistan and expand trade and transit facilitation between the two Countries.
To promote regional economic integration, Pakistan and Afghanistan are participating in key trans-regional initiatives namely Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and Central Asia – South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000).
The prime minister recently joined the Afghan president in Herat to inaugurate the TAPI gas pipeline project.
The two sides are also engaged in undertaking major bilateral rail-road connectivity projects.
