ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday received Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the PM House with the visiting dignitary being presented with a guard of honour which will be followed by delegation-level talks between the two sides.
PM Shehbaz and President Pezeshkian will now hold a bilateral meeting and will lead their respective sides in the scheduled delegation-level talks.
The two sides are expected to sign memorandum of understandings (MoUs) for cooperation in various areas which will be followed by a joint presser by PM Shehbaz and President Pezeshkian.The Iranian president — who was welcomed in Lahore by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and PML-N President Nawaz Sharif — touched down in Pakistan on his maiden visit on Saturday and is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including senior ministers and other high-ranking officialsA day earlier, the dignitary, who is visiting the country on PM Shehbaz’s invitation, paid a visit to the mausoleum of Allama Iqbal where he received a guard of honour from smartly turned-out personnel of the armed forces.
President Pezeshkian, while speaking to the media before departing from Iran, expressed hope that bilateral trade volume could be raised to $10 billion.
He also highlighted Iran’s interest in active participation in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key component of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.
Pezeshkian is the second Iranian president to visit Pakistan within two years. The visit was originally scheduled for the final week of July.
In April 2024, Ebrahim Raisi paid a three-day official visit to Pakistan — just a month before his death in a helicopter crash.
