Astana, Jun 8 (IANS): Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Afghan counterpart, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, on Thursday pledged to boost bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative.

The two heads of state made the remarks during their meeting in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Xinhua news agency reported.

Hailing the good momentum of bilateral ties, Xi said that high-level interaction should play an important role in guiding China-Afghanistan relations and that exchanges on all levels should be intensified.

The Chinese President also called for closer cooperation on security and anti-terrorism, saying that China supports Afghanistan's efforts to maintain domestic security and will continue helping the Afghan side to improve relevant capabilities.

For his part, Ghani said Afghanistan cherishes the friendship with China, and is grateful for China's help in its peaceful reconstruction and reconciliation process.

Afghanistan is highly appreciative of the B&R Initiative and looks forward to aligning its own development with the B&R construction, Ghani said, adding that his country will actively participate in cooperation on transport connectivity.