FM Qin Gang to attend meeting of neighboring countries of Afghanistan in Samarkand

BEIJING, Apr 11 (APP): Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang will be attending the fourth foreign ministers’ meeting of neighboring countries of Afghanistan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from April 12 to 13.

He has been invited by Uzbekistan’s acting foreign minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced on Tuesday at a regular press briefing held here.

Regarding China’s expectations for this meeting, Wang said that China hopes to have an in-depth exchange of views on the current situation in Afghanistan with the parties attending the meeting, further consolidate the consensus of the neighboring countries on the Afghan issue, and steadfastly implement the outcomes and consensus of the previous meetings, especially the Tunxi Initiative of neighboring countries of Afghanistan on supporting Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction and practical cooperation issued by last year’s meeting, which was held in Tunxi, a city of east China’s Anhui Province.

He said that China looked forward to working with all participants to support the Afghan Interim Administration and people to overcome difficulties and challenges, and achieve peaceful reconstruction, economic development and security and stability.

The Chinese side also expected that all participants can effectively respond to the legitimate concerns of the outside world, create more favorable conditions for the neighboring countries to expand cooperation with Afghanistan and help it better integrate into regional connectivity and economic integration process, and work together to promote peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region, he added.

In March last year, China hosted the third meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries in Tunxi, Anhui Province, and published the Tunxi Initiative of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries on Supporting Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction and pragmatic cooperation, which was widely praised by the international community.