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Pakistan

Zardari reaffirms support for peace in Afghanistan

Dunya News

President Asif Ali Zardari held meetings with his Afghan and Tajik counterparts in Beijing.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday held a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai reaffirming Pakistan’s unabated support towards peace, stability and socio-economic development of Afghanistan. The President is in the Chinese capital to attend the 12th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit.Spokesperson to President Senator Farhatullah Babar, while giving details of the meeting of the two presidents, said President Zardari recalling his meeting with the Afghan President in Chicago in May, said he looked forward to the visit of his Afghan brother to Pakistan later this year to attend the Quadrilateral Summit.Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari and Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon who met on the sidelines of SCO summit in Beijing agreed to work together to strengthen regional connectivity through road, air and rail links between the countries in the region for promoting mutual trade and economic activities.During the meeting, the two Presidents also discussed wide range of issues in bilateral relations and the regional situation.Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the President called for developing implementation mechanisms for effective follow up on agreed decisions.The President pointed out that the existing formal trade between the two countries amounting to a mere $15 million in 2011 was much below their potentialand emphasized liberalization of trade through appropriate mechanisms and in this context proposed facilitating visas to the business community.