KABUL: The first round of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Bilateral Dialogue will be held in Islamabad from June 7-8.
The theme of the conference will be “Consolidating the Gains: Exploring Avenues and Methodologies to Pursue Joint Objectives”. The dialogue is being organised by the Regional Peace Institute (RPI) and is part of RPI’s endeavours to contribute to forging peace in the South Asian region and to accelerate the pace of progress and development for the people. Pakistan-India Bilateral Dialogue and China-Pakistan-Afghanistan Trilateral Dialogue are the other key engagements that RPI is conducting in a bid to encourage closer collaboration among the countries of the region.
Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) is sponsoring the Pakistan-Afghanistan Bilateral Dialogue project. There will be two working sessions on June 7 on the themes of “Political and Security Dynamics: Laying Sustainable Foundations” and “Fighting Terror: The Lynchpin of Bilateral Resolve”. There will also be an open session on June 8 on “The Heart of Asia Dialogue: Debating the Istanbul Process and the Expansion of Business, Trade and Cultural Connectivity between Pakistan and Afghanistan”. The delegations from the two countries will comprise representation from the parliament, diplomatic corps, security personnel, business community, social sector, public intellectuals, academia and media.
The occasion will also be marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Collaboration between the Regional Peace Institute (RPI) and the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) for a host of activities to forge meaningful and sustainable cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as other countries of the region.
