China eager to include Afghanistan in ‘Belt and Road’ project

KABUL (Pajhwok): Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says his country is eager to officially include Afghanistan in the “Belt and Road” project.

He said this at a meeting with Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi today (Wednesday), deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal wrote on his Facebook account.

He said the two sides discussed expanding cooperation in various sectors between Kabul and Beijing.

Muttaqi highlighted the growing China-Afghanistan ties, calling China a valuable trade partner for Afghanistan, noting that the annual trade volume between the two countries reaches one billion US dollars.

He added the trade volume between the two nations would increase significantly in the near future.

As part of strengthening Afghanistan–China economic cooperation, Muttaqi presented practical proposals in the areas of transport cooperation, banking relations and balancing trade and called for the establishment of intergovernmental commissions to further expand economic cooperation and conduct technical discussions.

He once again reiterated that Afghanistan’s soil would never be used against neighbouring countries.

For his part, Wang Yi also described relations between the two countries as growing and highlighted the significant expansion of cooperation in many areas.

He said that relevant institutions of both countries were working to further increase Afghanistan’s exports to China.

He added that Beijing was keen for Afghanistan to be formally included in the major Belt and Road project.

He further said that cooperation with Afghan institutions in the field of mining exploration and extraction would also be enhanced.

The Chinese Foreign Minister added that his country plans to begin practical mining operations this year.

He pledged continued political and economic support for Afghanistan and vowed efforts to remove existing obstacles in the import of Afghan agricultural products and other goods.

kk/ma