Foreign Minister Dar to visit China on March 31 for talks on regional tensions

Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will visit China on Tuesday at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for in-depth discussions on regional tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a post on X on Monday.

“Pakistan and China enjoy an all-round strategic cooperative partnership, characterized by close coordination and regular consultations on regional and international issues,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The statement stated that within this context of deep cooperation, the visit will allow the two sides to “hold in-depth discussions on regional developments” and global issues of shared interest.

The visit comes as Islamabad concluded a four-nation meeting aimed at promoting dialogue and diplomacy to end hostilities in the Middle East.

The meeting brought together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt as part of a coordinated effort to de-escalate a conflict now entering its second month, amid growing concerns about further regional contagion and disruption to global energy supplies.

Dar revealed on Sunday that China extended full support to Islamabad’s initiative following his telephone conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. “Starting peace talks is not an easy task, but it is the only viable path to avoid more casualties and losses,” Yi said, according to an official Chinese statement.

The ministry noted that Foreign Minister Dar’s visit will take place “despite medical advice to rest following a small fracture in his shoulder sustained yesterday”, underlining the importance Pakistan attaches to its relationship with China.

Dar suffered the injury on Sunday after slipping and falling while hosting the Egyptian foreign minister in Islamabad, his son Ali Dar confirmed in a post on X.