Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif discussed new Afghan policy in meeting with President Erdogan
Pakistan and Turkey leadership pledge to continue mutual cooperation on regional peace, security, stability and connectivity.
According to Foreign Office, Pakistan’s foreign minister Khawaja Asif during a day-long visit to Ankara discussed issues of Rohingya Muslims and Afghanistan new policy by United States.
Pakistan seeks consultations with countries in the region following US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of his new war strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia.
Pakistan’s foreign minister was in Turkey on the third consecutive tour after China and Iran, both countries had rejected the new US policy soon after its announcement.
Asif, in meetings with Turkish President Recip Tayyep Erdogan, Prime Minister Benali Yildirim and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, discussed relations between the two nations and “mutual coordination on regional peace, security and connectivity,” a statement released by the Foreign Office said.
Khawaja Asif and Turkish President Erdogan asserted that “lasting peace in Afghanistan was important for stability in the region” and vowed to continue working together “for peace and stability in Afghanistan”.
Asif “reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong desire for further strengthening strategic partnership between the two countries through increased cooperation in political, economic, defence and people-to-people ties” in his meeting with Erdogan, the statement added.
Asif and the Turkish Prime Minister Benali Yildirim in their meeting “recalled the important work done under the High0-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC),” and resolved “to take measures to impart further impetus to this bilateral strategic forum.”
During their joint press conference, Asif and Turkish foreign minister Mevlvut Cavusoglu agreed that there was no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and reiterated that Afghanistan’s neighbors and regional countries needed to work together for facilitating a politically negotiated settlement under an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.
