Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to arrive in Islamabad to co-chair the 6th Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue alongside Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on August 21, the Foreign Office announced Tuesday.
The visit, part of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries, aims to further strengthen their “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.”
Talks will focus on reaffirming support for each other’s core interests, boosting economic and trade cooperation, and reinforcing both sides’ commitment to regional peace, development, and stability.
According to The News, Wang Yi’s engagements will include meetings with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with a focus on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) progress, economic collaboration, regional security, and defence ties.
The Chinese foreign minister is also expected to meet Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in Rawalpindi.
This will be Wang Yi’s first visit to Pakistan since India’s cross-border aggression in May last year and comes weeks after his meeting with Field Marshal Munir in Beijing, a development seen as reinforcing the “ironclad” relationship between Islamabad and Beijing.
Diplomatic sources have further indicated that the much-anticipated trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan is expected to take place in Kabul immediately after Wang Yi’s visit.
DPM Dar is likely to accompany him for the talks with Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, though officials have not ruled out the possibility of the Afghan foreign minister travelling to Islamabad instead. The discussions are expected to cover regional stability and Pakistan’s security concerns regarding Afghanistan.
Sources noted that some global capitals had attempted to obstruct the trilateral dialogue, but after weeks of negotiations, the three sides agreed to proceed. The meeting is seen as an important step in advancing trilateral cooperation.
Wang Yi’s trip carries significant regional weight as it follows his stop in New Delhi and precedes Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China later this month for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin.
