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Ebrahim Raisi is the first Iranian president to visit Pakistan in eight years

Islamabad:

Pakistan and Iran on Monday agreed on joint efforts to eradicate terrorism as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and discussed ways to promote bilateral ties at political, economic, trade and cultural levels, months after the two neighbours carried out tit-for-tat air strikes against alleged terrorist hideouts on rival lands.

Ebrahim Raisi, the first head of state of any country to visit Pakistan after the February 8 general elections, was welcomed by Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House where the Iranian leader inspected the Guard of Honour.

During their talks, President Raisi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif agreed on joint efforts to eradicate terrorism, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The two leaders also held discussions to increase trade and communication links between their countries, it added.

In the presence of Ebrahim Raisi and Shehbaz Sharif, the Iranian and Pakistani officials signed eight documents for promoting cooperation in various fields.

Addressing a joint press conference, President Raisi said that Iran and Pakistan have decided to increase the trade volume to USD 10 billion.

“We are committed to strengthening relations at the highest levels. The Economic and trade volume between Iran and Pakistan is not acceptable. We have decided as a first step to increase trade volume between our two countries to $10bn,” Ebrahim Raisi said.

In his remarks, Shehbaz Sharif said the entire Pakistani nation welcomes the visit of the Iranian President as he called for strengthening Pak-Iran ties despite challenges. “We have to keep this relationship strong despite the challenges we both face,” he said.

Shehbaz Sharif said he had detailed discussions with President Raisi on “religious, cultural, diplomatic, investment, and security matters” during their meeting.

He described Ebrahim Raisi as an “ocean of political intelligence and wisdom”, and said Iran would progress further under his leadership.

“Pakistan and Iran can prosper and our borders can see progress,” Shehbaz Sharif said, expressing hope that the shared border can adapt for trade and business.

He expressed hope for the relationship between the neighbours to be “firm and stable”, noting that today was an opportunity to “make this friendship a happy and prosperous one”.

During the joint press conference, Shehbaz Sharif raked up the Kashmir issue and thanked Iran for its stance. However, President Ebrahim Raisi refrained from mentioning Kashmir and instead talked about Iran’s support for those fighting against oppression especially in Palestine.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Raisi planted a tree on the lawn of the Prime Minister House as the world marked Earth Day on Monday.

The two countries signed an MoU for establishment of a special economic zone whilst another was signed for film exchanges and cooperation between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Organization of Cinema and audio visual affairs of Iran.

The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Ministry of Cooperatives, labours and social welfare of Iran as well as Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority and National Standards Organization of Iran also signed MoUs of cooperation. An MoU was also signed on legal cooperation.

Later, President Raisi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif unveiled the commemoration of naming one of the main streets of 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 Yousuf Raza Gillani met President Raisi and the two sides agreed to further expand parliamentary exchanges and to promote cultural cooperation and people-to-people ties.

A delegation of Pakistan-Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group led by Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq met with President Raisi and the two sides agreed to leverage parliamentary platforms to enrich and strengthen bilateral relations and promote people-to-people cooperation.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called on the Iranian President in Islamabad, where they discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments, Radio Pakistan reported.

The two leaders “emphasised the importance of enhanced efforts to further consolidate bilateral relations in diverse fields”, it said, adding that they also “affirmed commitment to peace and constructive dialogue for resolving regional challenges”.

Ebrahim Raisi, who arrived in Pakistan on a three-day official visit to promote cooperation, was accorded a warm welcome at the Islamabad Airport and was received by Housing Minister Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran Mudassir Tipu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on social media platform X.

Ebrahim Raisi, the first Iranian president to visit Pakistan in eight years, is accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation comprising the foreign minister and other members of the Cabinet and senior officials.

President Raisi will also visit Lahore and Karachi and meet with the provincial leadership, the Foreign Office said.

Pakistan and Iran enjoy strong bilateral ties anchored in history, culture and religion. This visit provides an important opportunity to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran relations, according to the Foreign Office.

Ebrahim Raisi is visiting Pakistan months after the cordial ties between the two neighbours suffered a setback when Tehran shocked Islamabad by carrying out airstrikes against alleged operative hideouts in the restive Balochistan province in January.

Pakistan swiftly responded by using killer drones and rockets to carry out “precision military strikes” against what it called “terrorist hideouts” in Iran’s Siestan-Balochistan province, killing 9 people.

However, the two sides acted fast to restrain tempers through diplomatic channels. Ebrahim Raisi’s visit is expected to further cement their ties.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)