FM Wang Yi treated as a ‘valued friend and very special guest’ by Pakistan

Islamabad: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is being treated as a ‘valued friend and very special guest’ by Pakistan as he becomes the first Chinese FM to address a two-day meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’s Council of Foreign Ministers – March 22-23.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said FM Wang Yi is a ‘valued friend and special guest’ who had only arrived to his ‘second home, Pakistan.

“He is a very special guest and valued friend. But in another sense of the word he is not a guest at all. He is only in his second home. Pakistan and China are brothers, so when we are there, we are in our second home and when the distinguished guests from China are here, they are also in their own second home,” he explained.

Pakistan invited Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to attend the upcoming conference of Foreign Ministers from the OIC in Islamabad as a ‘guest of honour’ – a rare move to accord this opportunity to a top diplomat from a non-OIC country.

FM Wang Yi will address the conference scheduled for March 22 and 23 as a special guest aimed at developing a partnership with the Muslim world besides promoting unity and cooperation for the multilateralism.

At least 48 Foreign Ministers from the 57-nation OIC have arrived in Islamabad for participation. This is the second OIC meeting being hosted by Pakistan in three months. In December 2021, Pakistan also hosted an extraordinary session of the OIC on Afghanistan.

FM Wang Yi will also attend the Pakistan Day Parade. The Chinese Minister will also meet the country’s civil and military leadership to review the bilateral ties as well as discuss regional and international issues.

Progress on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects would also be reviewed during his visit.

On arrival, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China was attending the 48th meeting of OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers to develop a partnership with the Muslim world and promote unity and cooperation for multilateralism.

After his bilateral meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi here on Monday evening, he told journalists that the OIC-CFM’s theme of “Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice, and Development” had great significance in the current scenario and was also the main purpose of Chinese participation.

In what Foreign Minister Qureshi called a “very comprehensive and detailed meeting,” the two foreign ministers discussed bilateral cooperation, regional situation as well as international issues.

FM Qureshi, on this occasion, mentioned that it was for the first time that the Chinese foreign minister would attend and address the CFM moot which manifested the strong partnership between Pakistan and China.

Qureshi said they also discussed the extension of CPEC to Afghanistan in what the Chinese FM assured for a review considering the changed situation in the war-torn country.

While discussing trade and investment cooperation, Qureshi remarked, China expressed the desire for the export of Pakistani rice and wheat in order to enhance the country’s exports.

He also thanked China for giving a rollover of US $2 billion to the State Bank of Pakistan to support Pakistan’s economy and also mentioned his upcoming visit to China within a few days which he said showed the limit of interaction cooperation and understanding.

FM Wang Yi spoke high of Pakistan’s steps for the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan also lauded the strict action against those involved in Dasu terrorist attack which had killed the Chinese nationals.

Wang Yi, who is on his first visit to Pakistan after COVID-19 pandemic, maintained that China would expand its support to Pakistan in poverty reduction, modernizing the agriculture sector for sustainable development. He called for closer multilateral cooperation on regional and international issues including Afghanistan and Ukraine.