UN chief praises Pakistan’s peace efforts during meeting with Naqvi

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday praised Pakistan’s efforts to promote peace during a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at the UN headquarters in New York.

Naqvi will represent Pakistan at the two-day 2026 UN Chiefs of Police Summit to be held at the UN headquarters in New York on July 7 and 8. The summit has brought together interior ministers, police chiefs and senior UN officials from around the world to discuss how UN police can better respond to evolving peace and security challenges, while strengthening international peace and security cooperation.

On the sidelines of the summit, Naqvi is also holding a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from several countries.

According to a post on X by the state drive PTVthe two sides also exchanged views on Pakistan’s mediation efforts and the country’s long-standing contribution to international peace. Guterres praised Pakistan’s efforts to promote peace, the statement said.

Earlier, Naqvi met with Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Alexandrovich Kolokoltsev who agreed to further strengthen ties between Pakistan and Russia during a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York where they discussed regional security and expanding cooperation between their interior ministries.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior on X, the two ministers held detailed discussions on the regional situation and explored ways to strengthen cooperation in counter-narcotics, counter-terrorism, cybercrime and joint police training exercises.

The two sides also discussed a joint strategy to combat terrorist networks operating in the region, especially in Afghanistan, and agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between their interior ministries to expand bilateral cooperation, the statement said.

Naqvi also invited Kolokoltsev to visit Pakistan.

The meeting reviewed progress on decisions made during the ministers’ previous meeting, according to the statement.

Referring to the security situation in the region, Naqvi said that more than 25 terrorist organizations were active in Afghanistan. “More than 25 terrorist organizations are active in Afghanistan. Eliminating these extremist groups is a shared responsibility. We need to work together to eradicate this menace,” the interior minister was quoted as saying.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of engagements at the UN headquarters in New York.

On Wednesday, Naqvi held meetings with China’s Minister of Public Security and head of the Special Service Bureau, Ling Zhifeng, and Sri Lanka’s Home Affairs Minister Ananda Wijepala.