TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said that the officials of Iran and Pakistan are making every effort to expand ties between the two countries.

“From the heart of history, we had comprehensive relations with Pakistan. Fortunately, the main instruction of the leaders of our two countries is to find every possibility for the expansion and strengthening of our relationship,” Mottaki said at the Pakistan Day Reception on Tuesday in Tehran at the residence of the ambassador of Pakistan.
Iranian Interior Minister Sadegh Mahsouli, Housing and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Saeedi-Kia, Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhundzadeh, Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Ahani, Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Iranian MPs, other senior Iranian officials, scholars, journalists, diplomats based in Tehran, and many members of the Pakistani community of Tehran also attended the event.
The Iranian foreign minister said, “It’s a great pleasure for me to meet our Pakistani brothers, accompanied by my other Iranian brothers, to congratulate you on this very important day for Pakistan. And you know how close we are.”
Pakistan celebrates its National Day on March 23 in remembrance of the Lahore Resolution, passed on March 23, 1940, which culminated in the creation of Pakistan on August 14, 1947, but because it coincided with the Iranian Noruz (New Year) holidays, the Embassy of Pakistan in Tehran delayed its function until April 14.
“I explained to the ambassador that unfortunately, for more than one year I could not attend any (of Pakistan’s) national celebration events here in Tehran, but today I got the pleasure to participate in this event. Joining you in your celebration of the great nation of Pakistan, we pray for the people and for the government of Pakistan, and we wish good things and prosperity for our brothers and sisters in Pakistan,” Mottaki said.
On the sidelines of the Pakistan Day Reception, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, Mr. M. B. Abbasi, talked to journalists of the Tehran Times and some other media outlets about Iran-Pakistan ties. He called the decision of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan’s cabinet to approve the gas price formula for the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline -- formerly known as the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline or the peace pipeline --- a momentous event in the history of Iran-Pakistan relations.
He went on to say that Pakistani and Iranian officials will meet in Tehran next week to decide on the final details of the pipeline deal, which will then be signed next month in Switzerland or in some other country by the Iranian and Pakistani presidents or other high-ranking officials.
For the time being, India has opted out of the gas pipeline deal, but it can rejoin at any stage since the pipeline has the additional capacity to transport gas to India and can be extended, Ambassador Abbasi added.
The ambassador also said that Iran-Pakistan bilateral trade has doubled over the past year, hitting $1.4 billion per annum when unofficial trade between the two countries via Dubai is included.