Pakistan hosts a summit grouping Afghanistan and Iran in a bid to improve ties between the three countries and to renew peace efforts with the Taliban.

Pakistan hosts a summit grouping Afghanistan and Iran in a bid to improve ties between the three countries and to renew peace efforts with the Taliban.

On Thursday, Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad flew into Islamabad in the afternoon for a formal summit meeting scheduled on Friday to be followed by a joint news conference, Pakistan government officials said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived earlier in the day for a series of talks with the government and the military on his second visit in nine months.

His office said separate talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would focus on expanding relations, economic ties and "enhanced cooperation" on ending 10 years of war in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and senior government ministers were also present, officials said.
For his part, Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who is accompanying his country’s president stressed the importance of bolstering trilateral cooperation among the three sides to promote peace and stability in the region.

He added that issues pertaining to regional developments, particularly security and stability, and ways to expand economic relations are top on the agenda of the summit.