Indian Defence Forum

Pakistan, Afghanistan and China have resolved to make concerted efforts in maintaining peace and stability in the region, especially in Afghanistan.

The point was agreed on during the first round of the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Strategic Dialogue held at Kabul on Monday. The session was attended by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, who led Pakistan's delegation.

The strategic dialogue was jointly co-chaired by Chaudhry, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao and Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai.

China and Pakistan reiterated support for the "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned" peace and reconciliation process.

China and Afghanistan also expressed their support for Pakistan to host the fifth Ministerial Conference of Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process in 2015.

During the dialogue, the three sides had an in-depth exchange of views on the situations prevailing in the region, issues of peace and security, and trilateral practical cooperation.

The three parties welcomed the formation of the National Unity Government in Afghanistan and enhanced bilateral interaction between Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as increased political, security, counter-terrorism and economic cooperation.

The three sides agreed to carry out a practical cooperation program under the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue and deepen cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism and security.

Click to expand...

KABUL: China has promised to help build a hydropower plant in a violent Afghan border region, as well as road and rail links to Pakistan, in the latest sign it is taking a more active role in Afghanistan.

The assistance will include an unspecified amount of financing, an Afghan foreign ministry spokesman, Sirajul Haq Siraj, said on Tuesday, a day after senior Afghan, Chinese and Pakistani diplomats met in Kabul.

"China agreed to support relevant initiatives for projects including the Kunar hydropower plant and strengthening road and rail connections between Afghanistan and Pakistan," Chinese Foreign Minis-try spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing in Beijing.

Beijing, Islamabad and Kabul resolve to make concerted efforts to maintain stability in Afghanistan

The planned 1,500 megawatt dam on the Kunar River was previously supported only by Pakistan, which could buy some of the electricity generated by it.

In 2013, Pakistan said it would also build a motorway connecting Peshawar with Kabul, as well as a railway line from Chaman to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

Kunar is one of Afghanistan's most active battlefields, with deep valleys and forests near the Pakistan border providing cover for different factions of the Taliban.

China's involvement could speed up work on these projects, though major Chinese investments including a large copper mine and railway link near Kabul have been put on hold partly because of militant violence.

Mr Siraj said the amount of Chinese financing for the dam and other projects would be decided in later trilateral meetings.

At the meeting, the diplomats also discussed ways to bring Taliban militants to the negotiating table, following a Chinese proposal late last year for a "peace and reconciliation" forum.

The first round of the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Strategic Dialogue was jointly chaired by Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jian-chao and Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai.

At the talks, China and Pakistan reiterated support for an "Afghan-led and Afghan-owned" peace and reconciliation process.

"The three sides resolved to make concerted efforts in maintaining peace and stability in Afghanistan," Pakistan said in a statement.

The three sides agreed to undertake "practical cooperation programme" under the strategic dialogue and deepen cooperation in the fields of counter-terrorism and security.

On the sidelines of the dialogue, Foreign Secretary Chaudhry held separate meetings with the Afghan deputy foreign minister and Chinese assistant foreign minister.

During their meeting Mr Chaudhry and Mr Hekmat Karzai agreed to hold a structured dialogue at the foreign secretary or deputy minister level every six months to follow up on various issues.

China, meanwhile, has growing interests in Afghanistan, which offers a possible route to the sea from China's landlocked west.

China wants the country to be stable, both to help it exploit mineral resources and to weaken militants it says operate in the far-western Chinese region of Xinjiang, which borders both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Click to expand...