Islamabad, 22 April 2024 (TDI): Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Pakistan for official meetings with the host nation’s leaders amid Iran-Israel tensions. This will be the first visit by any Head of State to Pakistan after the general elections in February 2024.
During his three-day stay in Pakistan, the Iranian president is scheduled to meet his counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, among others.
He will also visit Lahore and Karachi and meet with the provincial leadership.
Raisi’s high-level delegation would include the Iranian foreign minister, other Cabinet members, and business representatives.
The two sides will have a wide-ranging agenda to further strengthen 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.
This visit provides an important opportunity to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran relations.
Iran and Pakistan share a 900-kilometer border, which is prone to militant infiltration, smuggling, and other illegal crossings.
In January, Iranian security forces launched missile strikes against what they said were anti-Iran militant hideouts in the southwestern Pakistani border province of Baluchistan.
Also read: Pakistan to host Iranian President for bilateral talks
Tehran and Islamabad urgently undertook diplomatic efforts to defuse bilateral tensions, renewing pledges to enhance counterterrorism cooperation and respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Gas Pipeline
The two countries signed an agreement in June 2009 for the proposed pipeline to export Iranian natural gas to Pakistan.
While Tehran has since claimed to have completed construction of 1,100 km of the pipeline on its side of the border, construction has not started on the Pakistani side because Islamabad fears it would invite US sanctions for importing Iranian gas.
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