ISLAMABAD: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will arrive in Pakistan on an official visit from April 22 (today) to April 24, the first of any head of state since the February 8 polls, the Foreign Office confirmed in a statement on Sunday.
He will be accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation comprising the foreign minister and other cabinet members along with other senior officials as well as a large business delegation.
The Foreign Office’s confirmation comes after a comprehensive security plan was chalked out for President Raisi’s visit after his security squad members reached Pakistan to review the measures taken by the Pakistani authorities.
During his visit, as per the statement, the Iranian president will hold meetings with Pakistani leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq as well as provincial leadership.
The trip will see the neighbouring countries mulling over a wide-ranging agenda to further strengthen bilateral ties and boost cooperation in various fields including trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, and people-to-people contacts.
The two sides will also discuss regional and global developments and bilateral cooperation to combat the common threat of terrorism, the Foreign Office noted. President Raisi’s visit also holds significance as the two countries share key economic interests, most notably the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project.
The visit is part of ongoing efforts by the two countries to deepen their cooperation which received a temporary setback earlier this year.
In January, relations between the two nations had turned sour after Pakistan, in retaliation to Tehran’s cross-border strikes, carried out precision strikes using killer drones, rockets, loitering munitions and stand-off weapons to target terrorists inside Iranian territory.
Pakistan had even withdrawn its ambassador from Iran and announced that it would not allow the Iranian envoy visiting his home country at that time to return as a gesture of protest against the breach of its sovereignty by Iran.The diplomatic ties, however, were soon restored with the ambassadors of the two countries returning to their respective posts.