Iranian President to pay official visit to Pak

Islamabad : Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will arrive on a two-day official visit to Pakistan on Friday.

“At the invitation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Iranian President will visit Pakistan from March 25 to 26,” the Express Tribune quoted a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Office.

This will be Rouhani’s first visit to Pakistan as the President of Iran.

The Iranian President will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials and businessmen.

During his stay is Islamabad, Rouhani will hold meetings with his Pakistani counterpart Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

“The leadership will have an exchange of views on strengthening bilateral relations, particularly after the lifting of sanctions on Iran that has opened new avenues for enhancing economic interaction,” Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakria said.

He added that cooperation on regional and international issues of mutual concern will also be discussed.

The visit comes days after Prime Minister Sharif and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif toured Saudi Arabia to witness the multi-national military exercises.

Pakistan is although part of Saudi-led 34-nation counter-terrorism alliance, it is trying to ensure that its move does not affect its ties with Iran.

Meanwhile, reports say that Pakistani leadership will take the Iranian President into confidence about its decision to join the Saudi alliance.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sharif had expressed his desire to strengthen relations with Iran. (ANI)