KABUL (SW) – A high-level inter-ministerial delegation by Pakistan led by National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf arrived in Kabul on Saturday.
The NSA and his delegation were received by Nooruddin Azizi, the acting minister for commerce and industry, at Hamid Karzai International Airport, according to the Pakistan Embassy. Senior officials, including Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq, were also part of the delegation.
Pakistan Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan said the NSA had a “productive meeting” with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to kick off the visit. “[He] will have multiple official meetings to strengthen humanitarian and economic engagement,” he tweeted.
Yusuf was earlier scheduled to travel to Kabul on January 18 for a two-day visit but the trip was delayed due to bad weather.
Pakistan’s daily Dawn reported that the NSA is steering the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC) to channel Pakistan’s humanitarian and economic assistance to Afghanistan in a manner that helps the Afghan interim authorities in combatting their key challenges while adhering to the requirements of the UN and international sanctions.
According to officials of relevant ministries, the purpose of the visit was to ascertain the humanitarian, economic and development needs of Afghanistan in various sectors. The AICC in the past few weeks was working tirelessly on plans of assistance to Afghanistan.
Earlier, Afghanistan state Bakhtar news agency had reported: “Pakistan’s national security adviser is to discuss border issues, trade and economic ties with Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials during his visit to Kabul.”
The main sectors of Pakistan’s cooperation with Afghanistan include health, higher education, provision of humanitarian assistance, and enhancement of trade/business contacts.
The Afghan ministers for health, higher education, finance and commerce undertook visits to Islamabad in recent months for strengthening collaboration in these areas. The plans for assistance in these areas are likely to be finalised during the NSA’s visit.
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