Iran president Raisi to visit Pakistan on 22nd

Border security, trade, economic cooperation key agenda

ISLAMABAD:

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to visit Pakistan on April 22 for a two-day trip, according to sources.

The visit comes amid escalating tensions in the region following Iran's recent drone and missile strikes on Israeli territory.

During his visit, President Raisi will hold meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir.

Discussions are expected to cover topics such as border security, the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, trade, economic cooperation, and mutual areas of interest.

The meetings will also address the broader regional situation and the Iran-Israel conflict. The visit signifies ongoing efforts by both countries to deepen their cooperation, following a temporary setback earlier this year.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that the Iranian president's visit is imminent.

In January, tensions between the two countries escalated after Islamabad, in retaliation to Tehran's cross-border strikes, carried out precision strikes to target terrorists inside Iranian territory.

Later, foreign ministers of the two countries held talks in Islamabad days after their military moves raised concerns about wider instability in the region since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct. 7.

Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, speaking at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said the neighbours had several strong channels of communication with each other.

"All these channels were operational and we were able to bring whatever issue or misunderstanding that had been created between our two countries, we were able to resolve it fairly quickly," he said.

With additional input from Reuters