Muhammad Murad
China, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are scheduled to hold an informal meeting in Kabul on August 20. The foreign ministers of Pakistan and China – Ishaq Dar and Wang Yi, respectively – along with the Taliban’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi will convene to discuss trilateral issues.
Muttaqi had been scheduled to travel to Pakistan earlier this month, on August 5, but his visit was canceled, with both countries citing technical reasons. Sources suggest that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) prevented Muttaqi from traveling because he is still on the list of U.N.-designated Taliban members. This might have added extra motivation to hold the upcoming trilateral meeting in Kabul, although it was already planned for that location.
A previous meeting of the three foreign ministers was held in Beijing on May 21. According to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during that meeting, “the three foreign ministers spoke positively about the outcomes of the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue and engaged in a friendly and in-depth exchange of views on further utilizing the potential of the trilateral mechanism to advance mutually beneficial cooperation.”
During the last trilateral meeting both, “Afghanistan and Pakistan expressed clear willingness to elevate diplomatic relations and agreed in principle to exchange ambassadors as soon as possible” in order “to strengthen exchanges and diplomatic contacts.” This expression of interest by both countries resulted in Pakistan upgrading its diplomatic relations with the Taliban. This move can be partly attributed to the Taliban’s growing closeness to India. However, Dar also explicitly stated that the upgrade in Pakistan’s ties with the Taliban was made at Beijing’s request.
China has played a significant role in de-escalating tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban regime. This upcoming trilateral meeting is thus expected to strengthen not only the ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan but also the overall cooperation among the three countries. The informal meeting in Kabul will focus on efforts to combat terrorism and the expansion of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) into Afghanistan through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
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