The Pakistani official made the remark on the sidelines of the second day of APA Committee meeting on Economic and Sustainable Development Affairs hosted by Islamabad, while stressing that in many cases, parliamentary diplomacy proves to be more effective than governmental diplomacy in improving bilateral relations.
He described the relations between Iranian and Pakistani nations and governments as ‘deep, long-standing and firm’, and expressed his satisfaction over the presence of the Iranian delegation in the meeting.
Iran is participating in the event with Hossein Sheikholeslam, former director general of the Iranian Parliament’s International Affairs bureau, as well as two MPs, Mohammad Hossein Hosseinzadeh and Fatemeh Zolghadr.
Rabani further noted that the Senate of Pakistan has formed an Iran-Pakistan friendship group, expressing hope for the creation of a similar group in Iran’s new parliament.
He maintained that Tehran and Islamabad hold similar positions on many regional and international issues, and highlighted the need for increasing meetings and bilateral consultations at different levels.
“We are glad to see a remarkable number of women MPs in Iran’s parliament and will make efforts to have further interactions between the women lawmakers of the two countries,” he said.
The two-day Asian Parliamentary Assembly Committee meeting on Economic and Sustainable Development Affairs was inaugurated in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Tuesday with the participation of over 50 parliamentary delegations from 19 countries.
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