ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will reach Pakistan on Monday for a three-day visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday, to become the first head of state to arrive in the country after the Feb 8 general elections.
During his stay, Raisi will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani and National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the statement said, adding that he was also scheduled to visit Lahore and Karachi, where he would hold talks with the provincial leadership.
The Iranian president would be accompanied by his spouse, the foreign minister and other cabinet members, senior officials as well as a large business delegation.
According to the Foreign Office, the two sides will have a wide-ranging agenda to further Pakistan-Iran ties and enhance cooperation in diverse fields including trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture and people-to-people contacts.
“They will also discuss regional and global developments and bilateral cooperation to combat the common threat of terrorism,” the statement read.
It noted that the two countries “enjoy bilateral ties anchored by history, culture and religion” and “the visit provides an important opportunity to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran relations”.
The high-profile visit follows the recent trip by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud during which Islamabad invited Riyadh for joint business ventures like the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and airports as Pakistan aims at bolstering foreign investment to stabilise shaky economy.
It also comes just days after Iran went for a retaliatory strike against Israel after the Tel Aviv killed senior Iranian officials in an attack on a diplomatic compound in Damascus – the Syrian capital – followed by an Israeli attack on the Iranian soil, which, Tehran says, was of no consequence.
Although it was initially feared that the exchanges might develop into a major regional conflict and a steep rise in oil prices, both of these worst-possible scenarios didn’t materialise.
Earlier, Islamabad had indicated that the country would revive the Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline project and would seek relaxation from Washington from the US sanctions imposed on the neighbour located across our western border amid the reports that work had already been initiated on constructing the portion within Pakistan.
However, the US had made it clear that there won’t be any compromise on the sanctions targeting Iran, which have only grown stricter after former president Donald Trump opted out of the Iran nuclear deal signed by his predecessor Barack Obama.