BEIJING, DEC 26 (DNA) – The first trilateral China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Minister’s Dialogue, at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, was held in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss development, connectivity, security and counter-terrorism.

The trilateral dialogue was part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s initiative for strengthening of relations and developing cooperation between the three countries in the region.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said for maintaining peace in the region, it was important to eliminate terrorism.

“The three countries [Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan] are united to defeat terrorism in the region. Both Pakistan and China want peace in Afghanistan.”

Wang Yi continued, “Dialogue is a natural phenomenon between the three countries and we are working towards maintaining security in the region.”

“Pakistan and China are in favour of talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, said the Chinese FM while inviting the Taliban to be a part of the regional peace process.

The spokesperson for Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying, said that the three foreign ministers held an in-depth exchange of views on political mutual trust, reconciliation, development, security cooperation and counterterrorism.

Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani of Afghanistan and Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif of Pakistan along with delegations were part of the talks.

Earlier, on the sidlelines of the meeting, Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who was also heading Pakistan in the meeting, had a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.