ISLAMABAD - Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Iranian President Ahmadinejad are arriving in Islamabad today (Thursday) to participate in the two-day trilateral summit of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
The Iranian foreign minister and some advisers to President Ahmadinejad have already reached Islamabad, while the aides of Hamid Karzai will accompany him in the flight.
President Asif Ali Zardari would host the summit, for which all the arrangements have been finalised.
According to the Foreign Office spokesman, the trilateral mechanism is important for Pakistan to discuss matters pertaining to cooperation in counter-terrorism, curbing transnational organised crime, including drug and human trafficking, and border management. Apart from the issues of trilateral concerns, the Afghan and Iranian presidents would also discuss their bilateral relations with the Pakistani authorities.
At bilateral level, Pakistan and Iran would discuss progress on Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, trade and investment opportunities in various fields, while President Karzai is expected argue for the Afghan proposal to pursue reconciliation process with Taliban through Saudi Arabia instead of Qatar.