Iranian president visits Pakistan to boost ties

Islamabad – Pakistan welcomed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday for a three-day official visit as the two neighbours aim to strengthen their bilateral relations amid rising tensions in the region.

The visit, from Monday to Wednesday, is the first by any head of state to Pakistan after the general elections in February 2024.

The Iranian president is accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation comprising the foreign minister and other members of the Cabinet, senior officials as well as a large business delegation.

He is scheduled to visit the major cities of Lahore and Karachi where local governments have declared public holidays.

“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,” the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

“They will also discuss regional and global developments and bilateral cooperation to combat the common threat of terrorism,” the statement said.

Earlier in January, Pakistan and Iran downgraded diplomatic relations and expelled each other’s ambassador following a tit-for-tat missile attack.

There were fears that the strikes might trigger another conflict in a region already reeling from the Israeli war against the Palestinian militant organization Hamas in Gaza.

But by the intervention of global bodies like the United Nations and an offer to mediate by regional power China de-escalated the situation.