Representatives of Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United States and Uzbekistan have in principle agreed to establish a new “quadrilateral diplomatic platform” focused on enhancing regional connectivity.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his counterparts Haneef Atmar of Afghanistan, Abdulaziz Kamilov of Uzbekistan as well as US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad met on the sidelines of “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity, Challenges and Opportunities” conference in Tashkent.
“Representatives of the United States, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed in principle to establish a new quadrilateral diplomatic platform focused on enhancing regional connectivity,” read a statement issued by Pakistan Foreign Office and tweeted by the US State Department.
The foreign ministers agreed that long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan is critical to regional connectivity.
Recognising the historic opportunity to open flourishing international trade routes, they intend to cooperate to expand trade, build transit links and strengthen business ties, the statement said.
They agreed to meet in the coming months to determine the modalities of this cooperation with mutual consensus, the statement added.
