The leaders of Iran and Pakistan agreed to strengthen economic and security cooperation as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Pakistan to mend ties and discuss regional and bilateral relations.
Raisi arrived in Islamabad on April 22, 2024, on a three-day visit as the two neighbors seek to mend ties after unprecedented tit-for-tat military strikes earlier this year.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gillani, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and other officials on his three-day visit. Raisi also met with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to discuss regional and global developments and “affirmed commitment to peace and constructive dialogue for resolving regional challenges.”
Raisi is accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation. Following his official visit to Islamabad, he headed to Pakistan’s biggest city Karachi, and the cultural hub of Lahore, where he met provincial officials.
Raisi’s visit is the first by any head of state to Pakistan after the February 2024 elections and the formation of a new government headed by Sharif.
Iran and Pakistan agree to increase trade to $10 billion
Both sides agreed to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $10 billion in the next five years, according to the officials.
“The economic and trade volume between Iran and Pakistan is not acceptable at all and we have decided at the first step to increase the trade volume between our two countries to $10 billion,” President Raisi said.
“There are a number of common positions and stance between our two countries when it comes, for instance, to fighting against terrorism,” he said, adding that Iran and Pakistan shared a lengthy common border, which offered an opportunity to create and bring about welfare for the people residing in border areas and regions.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said both countries collectively needed to work to strengthen bilateral relations, transforming their shared border into a “beacon of development and prosperity.”
8 MoUs signed during Iranian President’s visit
The MoUs and agreements cover different fields including trade, science technology, agriculture, health, culture, and judicial matters. These included:
- Agreement on the establishment of the Rimdan-Gabd Joint Free/Special Zone
- MoU on cooperation between the Ministry of Cooperative Labour and Social Welfare of Iran and the Ministry of Overseas Pakistani and Human Resources Development of Pakistan
- MoU on judicial assistance and legal cooperation at the ministry levels
- MoU on cooperation for animal hygiene and health
- Agreement on mutual recognition in the field of quarantine and phytosanitary;
- MoU on the promotion of culture and films.
Security cooperation
Later on Monday, the Iranian president met with Pakistan’s Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir. Both sides concurred on the necessity to bolster bilateral cooperation while jointly striving for regional stability and economic prosperity, according to the Pakistani military.
“COAS (chief of army staff) described the Pak-Iran border as ‘the border of peace and friendship,’ emphasizing the need for improved coordination along the border to prevent terrorists from jeopardizing the longstanding brotherly relations between the two neighboring countries,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement.
The discussions focused on matters of mutual interest, as well as regional peace, stability, and border security.
The Iranian President said both countries were committed to combating terrorism, organized crime, narcotics, and various forms of insecurity that threatened not only the neighbors but the wider region.
Progress on Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline project
Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Owji, accompanying President Ebrahim Raeisi on his visit to Islamabad, announced Pakistan’s eagerness to expedite gas injection into the IP (Iran–Pakistan) gas pipeline, with contracts being arranged to accelerate the process. Pakistan’s current President Zardari helped launch the pipeline project in 2013.
During his meeting with Pakistan’s Minister of State for Petroleum, Musadik Masood Malik, discussions centered on bilateral relations, particularly in the energy sector. Highlighting an existing international agreement between Iran and Pakistan, he expressed optimism regarding gas exports to Pakistan during President Raisi’s tenure.
Despite stalled progress and U.S. sanction concerns on the 2010 gas supply deal, which aimed to construct a pipeline from Iran’s South Fars gas field to Pakistan’s Balochistan and Sindh provinces, Pakistan has recently approved the construction of an 80-km pipeline segment.