Pakistan and China on Thursday agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in industrial, agricultural, and mining sectors as Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held strategic consultations to review the entire gamut of bilateral ties.

During the 6th round of the Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue in Islamabad, the two leaders exchanged in-depth views on multiple facets of bilateral cooperation, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor 2.0, trade and economic relations, multilateral cooperation, and people-to-people ties, the Foreign Office said.

The “two sides reviewed the entire gamut of Pakistan-China relations and discussed important regional and global issues,” it said.

Underlining the All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership between Pakistan and China, Dar and Wang agreed that Pakistan-China friendship is significant for maintaining regional peace and stability and also indispensable for the progress and prosperity of the two countries, the Foreign Office said.

They also agreed to continue close coordination and communication, both bilaterally and at multilateral forums, it added.

Addressing a news conference along with Dar after their talks, Wang expressed firm support to enhance Pakistan’s economic resilience and added that the current priority for the two sides is high-quality development of an upgraded version of the CPEC.”We will build on our past achievements and refer to the development of more corridors,” Wang was quoted as saying by the state-run Radio Pakistan.Wang said both countries will also jointly support the development and operations of Gwadar Port and promote the Karakoram Highway realignment project. He also welcomed the third-party participation in the ML-1 project to upgrade Pakistan Railways.He said China highly commends Pakistan’s tireless efforts and immense sacrifices in combating terrorism. He expressed the confidence that Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operation will secure ultimate victory, adding that both countries will also work to deepen their counter-terrorism and security cooperation.

Wang said China and Pakistan will coordinate closely and meet challenges together, given the situation in South Asia and the broader transformation in the world. He said China wants a resolution of disputes through dialogue.

The Chinese Foreign Minister said the ironclad friendship between the two countries is growing from strength to strength. He said this all-weather strategic and cooperative partnership is unbreakable.

He also expressed sympathy over the death and destruction caused by recent floods in Pakistan and announced that his country will provide immediate emergency humanitarian assistance for the flood victims.

Dar said that they held “fruitful and substantive discussions” covering diverse areas of mutual interest.

“We took stock of progress achieved since the last round of Strategic Dialogue. We also exchanged views on the entire gamut of Pakistan-China relations, including CPEC, trade and investment, science and technology and people-to-people cooperation,” Dar said.

He said that the important developments about “our region and the world at large were also reviewed” and added that the two sides enjoyed “complete unanimity of use and consensus on all important matters”.

Dar also acknowledged the role played by China in easing tension with Afghanistan and mentioned that a trilateral meeting with Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi took place on Wednesday.

“These (trilateral) mechanisms signify our joint resolve to promote regional peace, stability and prosperity, and to share the dividends of Pak-China friendship with other countries in the region and beyond,” he said.

The two leaders also discussed preparations for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s forthcoming visit to China later this month to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, where he would also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

Dar said that the Pak-China B2B Investment Conference will also be organised during the PM’s visit to China. The government has already announced that PM Shehbaz’s visit will mark the formal launch of CPEC-II.

Earlier, Wang was warmly received by Foreign Minister Dar upon his arrival at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Strategic Dialogue.

He will also meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Wang arrived in Islamabad last night from Kabul, where he took part in a trilateral meeting with his counterparts from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The three sides agreed to expand cooperation in multiple fields, including the extension of the CPEC to Kabul.

This is Wang’s second visit to Pakistan in three years, and the latest high-level exchange between the two countries following recent bilateral meetings and visits.

Earlier this week, Wang visited New Delhi, where he held talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and attended the 24th round of Special Representatives boundary talks with NSA Ajit Doval on Tuesday.