Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Wednesday held a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi in China on the sidelines of the Afghanistan meeting.

Amir-Abdollahian and Qureshi discussed a number of bilateral issues of mutual interest, Ukraine crisis, the situation in Afghanistan, and the Vienna talks during the meeting.

The Iranian and Pakistani foreign ministers welcomed the development of bilateral relations and agreed to hold high-level meetings this year and hold a joint economic cooperation commission at the earliest opportunity.

They also stressed the need to implement the agreement on border markets as soon as possible.

While supporting international cooperation in helping the Afghan people, both the Iranian and Pakistani sides expressed concerns about the slow pace of decisions that would expand Afghanistan’s relations with its neighbors and improve the living conditions of its people.

They also described the deprivation of girls’ education as frustrating and said such actions had distanced the Taliban ruling body from the people and international legitimacy.

The two Iranian and Pakistani top diplomats expressed hope that the rulers of Afghanistan would pay serious attention to the real needs of the people in all political, economic and social spheres.

At the Vienna talks, the Iranian top diplomat stated that the solution to the remaining obstacles in the talks depends on the will of the American side.

Turning to the Ukraine war, Amir-Abdollahian rejected the war as a solution to the problems and explained the diplomatic efforts of Iran to prevent the war, assistance to get out of the current situation, and humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people to his Pakistani counterpart.

Qureshi, for his part, praised Iran’s efforts in making peace and providing humanitarian aid to َAfghanistan.

The Pakistani foreign minister also presented his assessments and perceptions of developments in Afghanistan to Amir-Abdollahian.

Amir-Abdollahian also met with Foreign Ministers of Qatar, Turkmenistan and Indonesia on the sidelines of the third foreign ministers meeting of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries which is taking place in Tunxi, in China on March 30-31.

Special representative of the Iranian President for Afghanistan Hassan Kazemi Qomi, assistant minister and director-general for South Asia  Seyed Rasoul Mousavi, assistant minister and director-general for  East Asia and the Pacific Reza Zabib, and Assistant Foreign Minister and Director-General for Eurasia at the Iranian foreign minister Alireza Haghighian are accompanying Amir-Abdollahian during his visit to China.

Hosted by China virtually, the first meeting of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries was held on September 8, 2021, with the participation of the Foreign Ministries of 6 neighboring countries of Afghanistan.

Tehran also hosted the second meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbors, plus Russia, on October 26, 2021.

The foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbors, along with Russia, stated in a joint statement on October 26, 2021, that a comprehensive political structure with the participation of all ethnic groups was the only solution to Afghanistan’s problems.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will host the 3rd foreign ministers meeting of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries in Tunxi, East China’s Anhui Province, on March 30-31.

Amir-Abdollahian is set to meet with his counterparts from Russia, Indonesia, Turkmenistan and Pakistan as well as the Uzbek Foreign Minister and Prime Minister during his visit to China.