The Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan have agreed to expand their cooperation in multiple fields, including the extension of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Kabul. Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Afghanistan acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi took part in the 6th Trilateral Foreign Ministers Dialogue in Kabul, which focused on political, economic and security cooperation.

The agreement on extension of the multi-billion-dollar CPEC comes as Islamabad and Beijing are expected to launch the second phase of the project later this month during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

In a social media post, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said the three sides committed to strengthening joint efforts against terrorism. They also reaffirmed their commitment to deepening collaboration in trade, transit, regional development, health, education, culture, and combating drug trafficking, as well as, extension of CPEC to Afghanistan, it added.

This is the first visit by the Chinese foreign minister to Afghanistan since the Taliban stormed to power in 2021, while the third by Dar to the Afghan capital since April.