Afghanistan and Pakistan leaders who met in London this week have noted significant progress in their relations since the last round of trilateral talks hosted by the British in September.
The meeting, led by British Prime Minister David Cameron, began with a dinner Sunday evening with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and continued Monday.
They were joined by foreign ministers, chiefs of defence staff, chiefs of intelligence, the Afghan national security adviser and the chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council.
The talks focused both on the Afghan peace process and on Afghan-Pakistan security cooperation, especially on border issues.
It is the third round of discussions since Cameron instigated the trilateral process last year, but it is the first time that foreign ministers, military leaders and intelligence chiefs are attending.
"The Afghan and Pakistani delegations agreed that the quality of dialogue and co-operation had significantly improved. They committed themselves to continue to make strenuous efforts in the spirit of mutual interest," a statement from the UK Prime Minister's office said Monday.
At a news conference with Karzai and Zardari, Cameron said "an unprecedented level of co-operation" had been agreed between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He also called on the Taliban to take part directly in peace talks.
"This should lead to a future where all Afghans can participate peacefully in that country's political process," he said.
According to the statement from the UK leader's office, all sides agreed on the urgency of this work and committed themselves to take all necessary measures to reach the goal of a peace settlement over the next six months.
All supported the opening of an office in Doha for negotiations between the Taliban and the High Peace Council of Afghanistan as part of an Afghan-led peace process, it added.
Karzai and Zardari also agreed on arrangements to coordinate Taliban detainee releases from Pakistani custody in support of the peace and reconciliation process. Karzai made it clear that he viewed the Taliban releases as positive.
Commerce and trade issues were also discussed with the two sides agreeing that negotiations between the foreign, interior and commerce ministers will happen this month to address trade and border management issues, as well as matters related to refugee returns.
This comes as Karzai told British press that security was better in southern Helmand province before British troops arrived and questioned whether Nato forces had been fighting in the right part of the country for the past 10 years.
He said he was not sure whether western forces were pulling out because they thought they had defeated the threat that terrorism posed to their own countries or because they thought the mission was a mistake.
"They feel fulfilled with regard to the objective of fighting terrorism and weakening Al Qaeda, or they feel that they were fighting in the wrong place in the first place, so they should discontinue doing that and leave," Karzai said Sunday in an interview with ITV news before the meeting with Cameron and Zardari.
Britain has had around 9,500 troops in Afghanistan since 2001 with most of them based in southern Helmand province.