Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Kabul on Thursday to meet Afghan leaders and discuss the Afghan peace process, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
This is Imran Khan’s first visit to Afghanistan since assuming office in August 2018. He will be accompanied by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Adviser for Commerce and Investment, and senior officials, according to the statement.
“The Prime Minister’s program includes tete-e-tete with President Ashraf Ghani, delegation-level talks, and joint press stake-out. The focus would be on further deepening the fraternal bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Afghan peace process, and regional economic development and connectivity,” the statement said.
Khan’s visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the statement said.
President Ashraf Ghani had last visited Pakistan in June 2019. Earlier, the two leaders had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 14th OIC Summit in Makkah in May 2019.
Khan also had a telephonic conversation with President Ghani in September 2020.
Khan’s visit builds on the sustained engagement between the two countries in recent months for enhancing bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.
Recently, Afghan officials visited Pakistan including Abdullah Abdullah, the Chairman High Council for National Reconciliation and discussed the Afghan peace process and relations between two countries.
As part of this process, and in run-up to the Khan’s forthcoming visit, Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce and Investment Razzak Dawood visited Kabul on 16-18 November 2020 and held in-depth discussions on bilateral trade and investment ties and matters related to transit trade, the statement added.
