Ibrahim Raisi is the first Iranian president to visit Pakistan in eight years
Islamabad:
Pakistan and Iran on Monday agreed on joint efforts to end terrorism as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and months after the two neighbors headlined bilateral ties at political, economic, trade and cultural levels. Discussed ways to promote For airstrikes against alleged terrorist hideouts on enemy lands.
Ibrahim Raisi, the first head of state of any country to visit Pakistan since the February 8 general elections, was received by Shahbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House where the Iranian leader inspected the guard of honour.
Official Radio Pakistan reported that during their conversation, President Raisi and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif agreed on joint efforts to eradicate terrorism.
The two leaders also discussed ways to enhance trade and communication ties between their countries.
In the presence of Ibrahim Raisi and Shahbaz Sharif, Iranian and Pakistani officials signed eight documents to promote cooperation in various fields.
Addressing the joint press conference, President Raisi said that Iran and Pakistan have decided to increase the volume of trade to 10 billion dollars.
Ibrahim Raisi said, “We are committed to strengthening relations at the highest levels. The economic and trade volume between Iran and Pakistan is not acceptable. We as a first step to increase the volume of trade between our two countries to $10 billion. has decided.”
Shahbaz Sharif in his remarks said that the entire Pakistani nation welcomes the visit of the President of Iran as he called for strengthening Pakistan-Iran relations despite the challenges. “We have to keep this relationship strong despite both the challenges,” he said.
Shahbaz Sharif said he had detailed discussions with President Raisi on “religious, cultural, diplomatic, investment and security matters” during their meeting.
He described Ibrahim Raisi as “a sea of political intelligence and wisdom” and said Iran would make further progress under his leadership.
Shahbaz Sharif expressed hope that Pakistan and Iran can prosper and our borders can see progress.
He expressed hope that relations between the neighbors would be “firm and stable”, noting that today was an opportunity to “enrich and prosper this friendship”.
During the joint press conference, Shahbaz Sharif raised the Kashmir issue and thanked Iran for its stance. However, President Ibrahim Raisi refrained from mentioning Kashmir and instead spoke of Iran’s support for those fighting oppression in Palestine in particular.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and President Raisi on Monday planted a tree on the lawn of Prime Minister House on the occasion of World Earth Day.
The two countries signed an MoU for the establishment of a special economic zone while another was signed for film exchange and cooperation between Iran’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Organization of Cinema and Audio Visual Affairs.
Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Iran Ministry of Cooperation, Labor and Social Welfare as well as Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority and National Standards Organization of Iran also signed cooperation agreements. An agreement on legal cooperation was also signed.
Later, President Raisi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated a memorial to name a main road in Islamabad after “Iran”.
President Raisi also met his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari and discussed key regional and global developments, particularly the situation in the Middle East.
Separately, Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani met President Raisi and both sides agreed to further enhance parliamentary exchanges and promote cultural cooperation and people-to-people relations.
A delegation of Pakistan-Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group led by Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq met President Raisi and the two sides held parliamentary meetings to strengthen and strengthen bilateral ties and promote people-to-people cooperation. Agreed to leverage platforms.
Radio Pakistan reported that earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met the President of Iran in Islamabad, where they discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments.
The two leaders “emphasized the importance of increased efforts to further strengthen bilateral relations in various areas”, it said, adding that they “pray for peaceful and constructive solutions to regional challenges”. Affirmed commitment to dialogue”.
Ibrahim Raisi, who arrived in Pakistan on a three-day official visit to promote cooperation, received a warm welcome at the Islamabad airport and was received by Housing Minister Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran Mudasir Tipu, Ministry of External Affairs. welcomed Posted on social media platform X.
The first Iranian president to visit Pakistan in eight years was Ibrahim Raisi, his wife and a high-level delegation including the foreign minister and other cabinet members and senior officials.
President Raisi will also visit Lahore and Karachi and meet with provincial leadership, the Foreign Office said.
Pakistan and Iran enjoy strong bilateral ties rooted in history, culture and religion. According to the Foreign Office, the visit provides an important opportunity to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran relations.
Ibrahim Raisi is visiting Pakistan after cordial relations between the two neighbors suffered a setback when Tehran surprised Islamabad in January with airstrikes on alleged operative bases in restive Balochistan province.
Pakistan quickly responded by using killer drones and rockets to launch “precision military strikes” against “terrorist hideouts” in Iran’s Politician-Balochistan province, killing nine people.
However, both sides quickly worked to defuse anger through diplomatic channels. Ibrahim Raisi’s visit is expected to further strengthen their ties.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
