BEIJING — Foreign ministers from Pakistan, China and Taliban met in Beijing in an “informal” trilateral dialogue aimed at strengthening regional cooperation on security, economic development, and connectivity, amid renewed tensions between Pakistan and India, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The meeting brought together Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and the Taliban’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the three sides reaffirmed their commitment to trilateral cooperation as “a vital platform to promote regional security and economic connectivity.”
The ministers discussed steps to deepen diplomatic engagement, expand trade, and invest in infrastructure as part of broader efforts to stabilize the region.
They emphasized joint commitments to counterterrorism, development, and extending China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to include Afghanistan, the statement said.
According to the statement, central to those efforts is the proposed extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — Beijing’s flagship investment program under BRI — into Afghanistan. The three parties agreed that such integration could be a catalyst for regional prosperity.
“They agreed to deepen Belt and Road Initiative cooperation and extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan,” the statement said.
The meeting follows a smaller three-way dialogue held earlier this month in Kabul, where Chinese and Pakistani envoys met with Muttaqi to prepare for the Beijing summit. It also comes just days after an escalation in military tensions between India and Pakistan, which has raised broader concerns about stability in South Asia.
While the Beijing meeting was informal, the statement said that all parties agreed to convene a formal Sixth Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kabul at an early and mutually convenient date.
