ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Kabul on Thursday on the invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

This is Prime Minister’s first visit to Afghanistan since assuming office.

The Prime Minister’s programme includes tete-e-tete with President Ashraf Ghani, delegation-level talks, and joint press stake-out. The focus would be on further deepening the fraternal bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Afghan peace process, and regional economic development and connectivity.

The people of Pakistan and Afghanistan are linked through immutable bonds of history, faith, culture, kinship, values and traditions. The Prime Minister’s visit will help foster a stronger and multi-faceted relationship between the two brotherly countries.

Imran Khan’s visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

President Ashraf Ghani last visited Pakistan in June last year.

Earlier, the two leaders had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 14th OIC Summit in Makkah in May last year. The Prime Minister also had a telephonic conversation with President Ashraf Ghani in September this year.

The Prime Minister’s visit builds on the sustained engagement between the two countries in recent months for enhancing bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. In this context, besides Foreign Minister’s regular exchanges with his Afghan counterpart, there have recently been important visits from Afghanistan to Pakistan of Chairman High Council for National Reconciliation Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Speaker Afghan Wolesi Jirga Rahman Rahmani, and Commerce Minister Nisar Ahmad Ghoraini. On 31 August this year, the Second Review Session of the Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) was held in Kabul.

As part of this process, and in run-up to the Prime Minister’s forthcoming visit, Adviser Commerce and Investment Razak Dawood visited Kabul last month and held in-depth discussions on bilateral trade and investment ties and matters related to transit trade. 

Prime Minister’s delegation will comprise the Foreign Minister, Adviser for Commerce and Investment, and senior officials.