Iran’s senior security officer meets with President Zardari and PM Shehbaz in important sessions.

During his official visit to Pakistan, Dr. Ali Ardeshir Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, met separately with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari.

Shehbaz Sharif greeted Dr. Larijani at the Prime Minister’s House and reaffirmed the longstanding and cordial nature of ties between Iran and Pakistan. Both parties examined significant regional and global trends and emphasised the need to increase collaboration across a number of sectors. While Dr. Larijani praised Pakistan’s support during the recent 12-day crisis and its push for peace and diplomacy, the Prime Minister commended Iran for its solidarity during trying times. It was decided that a group headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar would travel to Iran shortly to improve collaboration, especially in the areas of communications, connectivity, and agriculture.

President Zardari congratulated Dr. Larijani on taking up his new position and engaged in extensive conversations with him at Aiwan-e-Sadr. The president expressed gratitude to Iran for its long-standing support during Pakistan’s conflicts with India as well as for its humanitarian assistance following the floods.

He commended Iran’s position on Palestine and Indian illegally occupied Jammu & Kashmir and reiterated Pakistan’s political and diplomatic support for Iran in the face of Israeli aggression. Zardari emphasised the significance of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and stated that Pakistan wants to increase bilateral trade and fortify the Pakistan-Iran railway link.

Dr. Larijani praised Pakistan’s military, said that Iran has taken a significant step towards the $10 billion trade aim by granting preferential market access to Pakistani goods, and conveyed goodwill messages from President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The sessions, which were attended by senior officials from both nations, covered counterterrorism, security cooperation, and regional stability.

Tuesday also saw Pakistan and Iran reiterate their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations in a number of areas and expanding collaboration on regional and global issues of shared concern.

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Dr. Ali Larijani met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar to discuss the bilateral connections and collaboration.

Ali Larijani, who arrived in Islamabad on Monday night as part of his official visit to Pakistan, was earlier met by DPM Dar at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.