Achi news desk-
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will arrive in Pakistan on Monday for a three-day visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday, to be the first head of state to arrive in the country after the February 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 arranged to visit Lahore and Karachi, where he would hold talks with the provincial leaders.
The president of Iran 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, both sides will have a broad agenda to promote Pakistan-Iran relations and enhance cooperation in various fields including trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture and people-to-people relations.
“They will also discuss regional and global developments and bilateral cooperation to combat the common threat of terrorism,” the statement read.
He noted that the two countries “enjoy bilateral relations anchored by history, culture and religion” and “the visit is an important opportunity to further strengthen the relationship between Pakistan and Iran”.
The high-profile visit follows the recent trip of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, when Islamabad invited Riyadh for joint business ventures such as the privatization of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and airports as Pakistan aims to strengthen foreign investment to stabilize shaky. economy.
It also comes a few days after Iran went for a retaliatory strike against Israel after Tel Aviv killed senior Iranian officials in an attack on a diplomatic compound in Damascus – the Syrian capital – followed by an attack by Israel on Iranian soil, which, Tehran says. , it was of no consequence.
Although it was initially feared that the exchanges could develop into a major regional conflict and a steep increase in oil prices, these two worst possible scenarios did not materialise.
Earlier, Islamabad had indicated that the country would revive the Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline project and would try to loosen Washington from the sanctions imposed by the United States on the neighbor located across our western border amid reports that work has already begun on building the interior. Pakistan.
However, the US has made it clear that there will be no compromise on the sanctions targeting Iran, which have only become tougher after former president Donald Trump opted out of the Iran nuclear deal signed by his predecessor Barack Obama.
