Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qazi M. Khalilullah in his weekly press conference on Thursday confirmed the attendance of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the fifth ministerial conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan scheduled in Islamabad from December 8 to 10.
The Pakistani official also confirmed the participation of foreign ministers from China, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan so far. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani is scheduled to jointly inaugurate the two-day event. Pakistani media also announced the participation of Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj in the Heart of Asia security conference.
Zarif would push forward Iran‘s stance on the Afghan issue and would introduce the country’s efforts to help Afghanistan‘s peaceful reconstruction and national reconciliation.
Inaugurated in 2011, the Istanbul Process is the only Afghanistan-related cooperation mechanism led by regional countries with an aim to promote peace and prosperity in Afghanistan. The conference is named Istanbul Process since Turkish government had taken the initiative in holding the meeting in the past years.
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