On December 9, 2015, Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the fifth Foreign Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan in Islamabad.

Wang Yi expressed that in the past year, the national unity government of Afghanistan led by President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah has made positive progress in various fields. Assisted by Pakistan and China and participated by the US, the Afghan government held the first round of peace talks with Taliban, which is the most significant progress in the country’s reconciliation process this year. On the other hand, Afghanistan is still beset with problems including armed conflicts, terrorism and drug overflow and unable to continue the reconciliation process, therefore, it still bears a heavy responsibility to realize peace, stability and prosperity.

Wang Yi pointed out that given the current situation in Afghanistan, China calls on all parties to focus on strengthening cooperation in such aspects: increase assistance and support for Afghanistan’s peaceful reconstruction; firmly back Afghanistan’s reconciliation process; boost Afghanistan’s self-development capacity; join forces in regional security cooperation; deepen connectivity and economic integration in the region. China welcomes Afghanistan and other countries involved in the process to actively participate in the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative and supports Afghanistan to integrate into the spring tide of regional development at an early date.

Wang Yi stressed that as a neighbor of Afghanistan and a good friend of the Afghan people, China always supports Afghanistan’s cause in safeguarding independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity in a firm way, supports Afghanistan to seek a development path in line with its own national conditions and people’s will and supports Afghanistan to advance peace and reconstruction process.

Wang Yi said that China has always supported and helped Afghanistan in its own way and according to Afghanistan’s actual needs. China agreed to construct houses for Afghanistan as free aid, took the lead in providing emergent earthquake-relief aid to Afghanistan and helped Afghanistan formulate its infrastructure development plans. China will also work with countries of willingness to build platforms and offer convenience for resuming Afghanistan’s reconciliation process on the basis of respecting Afghanistan’s sovereignty and will of all parties. China supports carrying out cooperation in trust-building measures under the framework of the Istanbul process and has successfully held training sessions in three areas of counter-terrorism, drug control and disaster management as it promised at the Beijing conference last year. China also actively advances various small-scale multilateral cooperation to make them an important supplement to China-Afghanistan cooperation.

Wang Yi expressed in the end that with regard to the security and development issue, we are closely linked and share weal and woe with Afghanistan. China will work with the international community to make unremitting efforts for long-lasting security and universal prosperity in Afghanistan and the region at large.

Participating Foreign Ministers made statements on the theme “Enhancing Cooperation, Addressing Security Threats and Promoting Economic Connectivity”, saying that the international community should join efforts to play the positive role of the Istanbul process, support Afghanistan’s efforts in realizing reconciliation and peaceful reconstruction, and make Afghanistan’s economic and security transitions complement each other in an endeavor to realize peace, stability and development in Afghanistan.