Islamabad, Feb 9 (PTI) Pakistan will hold an international conference to mark four decades of the presence of Afghan refugees in the country, according to an official statement.

The conference "40 years of Afghan Refugees Presence in Pakistan: A New Partnership for Solidarity" would be held on February 17-18 in Islamabad, the Foreign Office (FO) said.

The conference, which is being organised by Pakistan in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan and would see participants from around 20 countries, the statement said.

"In addition, senior level participation is expected from United Nations, multilateral developments banks, civil society and private sector," the statement said.

"The conference would be held at an important juncture as efforts on to consolidate peace in Afghanistan are making progress,” the statement added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)