Pak, Turkey, Afghan Summit Today

ISTANBUL: A trilateral meeting between the presidents of Pakistan, Turkey and Afghanistan being held in Istanbul today.

The trilateral meeting brings together Turkey’s Abdullah Gul, Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari and their Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai, will be the first of its kind since the November 2009 presidential election in Afghanistan.

The 4th Trilateral Summit Monday will discuss mutual cooperation to curb extremism and militancy in the region. The leaders will also hold talks aimed at strengthening political, economic and security ties among the three countries.

The three-way talks will be followed by a summit of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries in Istanbul on Tuesday, which will also be attended by the foreign ministers of China, Tajikistan, and the vice president of Turkmenistan.

Tehran has announced that Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi will represent the Islamic Republic.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, and the Russian deputy prime minister are also expected to attend.