Islamabad:
Representatives from Pakistan, China, Russia and Iran met on Monday in Moscow to coordinate their positions ahead of the seventh round of Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan, scheduled to begin on Tuesday (today).
The meeting gathered special broadcasts from the four regional powers to detailed discussions about the situation in Afghanistan, especially the ongoing security challenges and the threat of terrorism.
According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, the four -party meeting focused on preparations for Tuesday’s session, including the preparation of the format’s final communication.
Sources said that participants also discussed their common opposition to the creation of any foreign military bases inside Afghanistan, a topic that is expected to be prominent in the main meeting.
Pakistan’s special representative of Afghanistan, Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq, previously held a number of bilateral meetings in Moscow prior to the consultations.
He met with his Iranian colleague, Mohammad Reza Bahrami, to discuss the latest developments in Afghanistan, shared regional concerns, especially the persistent threat of terrorism and emphasized the importance of continued dialogue and coordination among neighboring countries.
Ambassador Sadiq also met with China’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Ambassador Yue Xiaoyong, where both sides confirmed the importance of regional security cooperation, coordination of terror control and the need to tackle humanitarian concerns in Afghanistan through collective action.
According to Ambassador Sadiq, the meeting emphasized the strong partnership between Islamabad and Beijing in promoting stability and development in the region.
In addition, Sadiq met with his Russian colleague, Ambassador Zamir Kabulov, to discuss measures to improve regional cooperation on Afghanistan. Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul, Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani, was also present during the meeting.
Launched in 2017 by Russia, the Moscow format in Afghanistan acts as one of the most significant regional diplomatic platforms relating to the Afghan question. It brings together Afghanistan’s immediate and expanded neighbors to consider political reconciliation, terrorism and humanitarian concerns in the war -hired country.
The core members of the format include Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the five Central Asian states – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadsjikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
