Ishaq Jahangiri received Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif arrived in Tehran Tuesday after a visit to Riyadh the day before. Iran’s Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan welcomed Mr. Sharif and his delegation in airport in Tehran earlier Tuesday.
Mr. Jahangiri highlighted that both Iran and Pakistan should work in harmony to tackle the terrorism and bolster stability of the region; “relations with neighbors is a priority for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy, with Pakistan also being a special case in this grand scheme of policy thank to common cultural and religious features both brother nations enjoyed,” said the first vice-president. “Now, with sanctions removed, a good ground for cooperation in banking and other economic and financial sectors is prepared; a joint economic commission should be soon met and could be influential in advancing bilateral economic ties,” he emphasized.
Jahangiri also touched upon gas pipeline which would transfer Iran’s southern gas to Pakistan and joint venture in electricity generation as cases of cooperation; “it is crucial that flights be increased between both Tehran and Islamabad in line with common decision to boost exchanges of delegations agreed in previous accords,” he told Nawaz Sharif.
Still commenting on different issue of terrorism, Jahangiri said that Iran accurately believed Pakistan was a key to solution of problems of Afghanistan and that both countries should sit and talk to find a possible solution to those issues affecting both countries; “to redeem the image of Islam, Islamic countries should show enough solidarity in reacting to terrorism’s atrocities in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen,” he believed.
Nawaz Sharif for his part, congratulated Iranian officials on removal of cruel sanctions against Iran’s economy and extended his praise to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution whose ‘wise leadership’ guided the nuclear negotiation to safe grounds; “the role of the Foreign Minister Zarif was equally intelligent enough as well and today, the world recognizes and respects Iran as a powerful country in the region,” he added.
Sharif dubbed Iran as his and Pakistanis’ ‘second home and believed it was an honor for him to visit the brother country; “today, we need solidarity more than any other time and both Pakistan and Iran could play key roles in tackling issues in the world of Islam,” he said.
On security issues in the common borders, Sharif urged holding a joint session of military and intelligence officials to hammer out ‘good approaches and solutions’ to border issues; “I will issue a directive in the shortest possible time to facilitate the banking relations between Iran’s Central Bank and Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs,” said Mr. Sharif, turning on Afghanistan question; “Pakistan backs peace talks in Afghanistan and we welcome and are willing to work with Afghan officials to bring about an enduring peace in our northern neighbor,” he asserted.
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