In the meeting with Rana Tanveer in the capital Tehran today afternoon, Iran’s 1st Vice President Eshagh Jahangiri expressed Iran’s interest in enhancing bilateral relation with neighboring Pakistan in all fronts, adding “nobody can disturb the existing good relations.”
Jahangiri said Iran and Pakistan have a lot of capacities in the defense industry, emphasizing that Iran and Pakistan should resolve bilateral issues quickly and move towards the development of relations.
Iran’s 1st vice president went on to stress that the two countries can increase the level of their defense cooperation as its current level does not match their existing capacities.
Jahanigiri continued saying "Iran sees no restrictions on the development of defense and military cooperation with Pakistan, and the visit made by high ranking military officials of the two countries in recent years has indicated a serious determination to enhance the level of such cooperation.”
With regard to the agreements between the two countries to open new borders gates, he added "the creation of new border crossings between the two countries could facilitate trade between them."
The 1st vice president mentioned restrictions on banking cooperation as one of the main obstacles in the way of developing cooperation between Iran and Pakistan and said that the two countries have not yet succeeded in bringing their banking relationships to an acceptable level in order to facilitate trade between the two countries.
The first vice president also said that Iran is ready to complete the gas pipeline project and the planned supply electricity to Pakistan, adding “Iran and Pakistan have good achievements in science and technology, and Tehran is keen to cooperate with Islamabad in the academic sector, as well as in science and technology.”
In relation to the talks on strengthening bilateral trade between the two countries through Chabahar and Gwadar ports, Jahangiri noted that Iran welcomes cooperation between those two ports.
Referring to talks with Iran defense minister, Pakistan’s Minister for Defense Production and Minister for Science and Technology, for his part, said “in those talks, a mechanism was developed for the development of joint cooperation in the defense and science and technology sectors, and I hope that we will see an increase in the level of cooperation between the two countries in different sectors.”
Rana Tanveer described the Islamic Republic of Iran as a brotherly and friend country for Pakistan, pointing out the great commonality between the two nations, adding "Iran and Pakistan share a lot of cultural and religious affiliations, and geographically have a long shared border.”
Referring to the phenomenon of terrorism in the region and the necessity of trying to establish peace and stability, Pakistani minister said that the development of Tehran-Islamabad cooperation can play an effective role in combating terrorism in the region.
Referring to talks on cooperation between the two countries through the ports of Chabahar and Gwadar, Rana Tanveer stated "through negotiations, we will try to establish a shipping line between the two ports in order to facilitate the travel between two nations.”
Referring to his visit to Iran’s Permanent Expo of Defense Industries, Pakistani minister hailed Iran’s achievements and capabilities in the defense industry, pointing out that the two countries can use each other's experiences and capabilities to improve their defense industries.
Rana Tanveer described the United States as an unreliable country, and said that Iran and Pakistan have gone down the same path, stressing that no country is allowed to interrupt their relations.
KI/4202988