Meeting between the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Prime Minister of Pakistan
Islamabad : Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who is currently on an official visit to Pakistan, met Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House.
Upon arrival at the Prime Minister House, President Pezeshkian was received by the Prime Minister and presented a guard of honor followed by the official welcome ceremony. The two leaders then held talks in a narrow format, followed by delegation level talks between the two sides. During the talks, the Prime Minister was assisted by the Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Sen. Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, as well as other important Federal Ministers, Ministers of State and senior government officials.
While underscoring the long standing brotherly relations between Pakistan and Iran, the Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s solidarity and support for the Iranian leadership, Iranian armed forces and the people of Iran, who bravely fought against Israel’s aggression in the 12-days war. He offered condolences on the martyrdom of Iranian military officials, scientists and innocent citizens during the war and prayed for early recovery of the injured. He also thanked Iran for its strong support to Pakistan during the recent Pakistan-India standoff. President Pezeshkian thanked the Government and people of Pakistan for their unwavering support to Iran during the war and said that the Iranian nation would always remember this gesture.
The Prime Minister emphasized the need to further expand the existing wide-ranging bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Iran, particularly in the areas of trade, connectivity, culture and people-to-people contacts. In this regard, the Prime Minister called for early convening of the 22nd Joint Economic Commission between Pakistan and Iran, which is expected to be held soon. The two leaders witnessed the exchange of a number of MoU and agreements in various sectors of mutual interest that will go a long way in enhancing bilateral ties.
A number of initiatives for enhancing trade were discussed, including facilitating barter trade, enhancing quota for export of rice, fruits and meat, border markets operationalization, and addressing issues related to enhancing trade. The two leaders also expressed satisfaction at the progress of recently held trade talks between Pakistan and Iran. The two leaders reaffirmed their shared vision to enhance the existing volume of trade of USD 3 billion to the mutually agreed target of USD 10 billion soon.
During the talks, both sides also exchanged views on important regional and global developments. The Prime Minister thanked the Iranian leadership for Iran’s vocal and active support for the innocent Palestinian people, who have been suffering brutal aggression at the hands of Israeli security forces. While reaffirming Pakistan’s strong support to the creation of an independent state of Palestine in accordance with the U.N. resolutions, the Prime Minister called for an immediate end to Israeli barbarity against innocent people of Gaza who were being denied humanitarian assistance and being forced to starve. Both leaders urged the international community to act swiftly to resolve this crisis. The Prime Minister also thanked Iran for its support for the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir.
The Prime Minister also hosted a luncheon banquet for the visiting Iranian President and members of his delegation. Both leaders also held a joint press conference where they spoke on the issues they had discussed earlier in the day
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
