DHAKA: Pakistan and China have agreed on the need for maintaining strategic balance in South Asia.

The decision came after the discussion of top officials from both sides on bilateral and regional issues during Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit here, reports the Times of India.

The issue of regional situation figured in the delegation-level talks between Sartaj Aziz, the advisor to the prime minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, and the Chinese foreign minister, who led a seven-member delegation.

“In the delegation-level talks between the advisor and the Chinese foreign minister, the two sides reviewed all aspects of the bilateral relationship,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement issued at the conclusion of Wang’s two-day trip on Friday.

“The two sides also took stock of regional developments and agreed on the need for maintaining strategic balance in South Asia,” it said.

Besides discussing bilateral and regional matters, the two sides also held talks on the United Nations Security Council.

“Both sides agreed on the need to make United Nations Security Council more representative and effective, and that its reform should be achieved by consensus,” it said.

They agreed that work on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its related projects should be expedited to ensure that Early Harvest Projects could be operationalized at the earliest.

During the Year of Friendly Exchanges, Pakistan and China have planned a series of activities in the parliamentary, cultural, education, media, business, and other spheres to further strengthen their strategic partnership and ‘all-weather friendship’.

BDST: 1027 HRS, FEB 15, 2015