TEHRAN- In conformity with international law, the Iranian foreign minister proposed a variety of ideas to improve economic and commercial relations with Pakistan.

For a three-day official visit, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian landed in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on Wednesday evening.

Amir Abdollahian arrived in Karachi on Friday to meet with local officials and businesses, as well as Iranians residing there, and also to participate in Friday prayers.

During an official visit on Thursday night, Amir Abdollahian met with Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

He also provided the Pakistani premier with information on the discussions between delegates from the two states on political, economic, trade, security, and border issues during the gathering, which was also attended by the foreign minister of Pakistan.

Pointing to the agreements about banking activities, barter system and gas transfer pipelines, Amir Abdollahian reaffirmed Iran’s determination to carry out the bilateral deals with Pakistan.

Prime Minister Sharif, for his part, praised the Iranian delegation’s “timely” visit to Pakistan.

Additionally, he extended an invitation to the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, to visit Pakistan in the hopes that he would be the first head of state to do so following the circumstances surrounding the elections in Pakistan.

The most recent events in Afghanistan were one of several regional and global topics that the two officials discussed.

During his official visit to Pakistan, Ami Abdollahian also met separately with Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, and Sadiq Sanjrani, Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan.

Pakistan army chief says decided to cooperate with Iran in fight against terrorism

During a meeting with Amir Abdollahian on Thursday night in Islamabad, General Asim Munir, Pakistan’s chief of army staff, reaffirmed his nation’s commitment to working with Iran to combat terrorism.

The top Pakistani general stated that his country is totally serious about working with the amiable country, the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the battle against terrorism. 

According to the general, Pakistan is firm in its fight against terrorism and regards Iran’s security as being equal to its own.

He also praised the outcomes of his trip to Tehran in July and his meetings with important figures, such as President Raisi and Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri.

Amir Abdollahian, for his part, cited the agreements he had made with high-ranking Pakistani authorities regarding security and border matters.

He stated that cooperation by the Pakistani Army for the bilateral security agreements will hasten their implementation.

The agreements on border and security matters reached during General Munir’s recent visit to Tehran marked a new phase in bilateral cooperation, the Iranian foreign minister said.

The most recent events in Afghanistan were among the many regional and global issues that the two officials also addressed.

The Iranian and Pakistani foreign ministers signed a five-year strategic plan for commercial cooperation in Islamabad on Thursday.

Amir Abdollahian also exchanged views with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on a range of issues, including border security and exchange of prisoners.

Amir Abdollahian emphasized that the agreements reached between the two neighboring countries to strengthen border security will provide a suitable ground for developing relations.

He further noted that the meeting is aimed at facilitating the implementation of 190 documents already signed between Iran and Pakistan and reaching a sustainable and long-term cooperation deal, Press TV reported.

Bhutto Zardari also called for formation of a strategic committee to follow up on agreements to expand cooperation, including those in the defense and commercial areas.

He also welcomed the opening of border markets and hailed the trip by Amir Abdollahian as “very beneficial.”

Iran urges Pakistan to complete its part of gas pipeline project

According to mymotherlode.com, Iran’s foreign minister also on Thursday urged Pakistan to complete its part of a much-delayed gas pipeline between the two countries, a multi-billion project that has been on hold since 2014.

“We do believe that the completion of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline is definitely going to serve the national interests of our two countries,” Amir Abdollahian told a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Bhutto Zardari.

The project, launched in 2013, required Pakistan to finish the construction of the pipeline on its territory by the end of 2014. Iran says it has already invested $2 billion on the pipeline project on its side of the border.

Elsewhere in his remarks at the press conference, Iran’s chief diplomat called for halting weapons supplies to Ukraine by the West.

“We have said this and we believe war is not the way, it is not the solution,” he said. “We believe that it is a source of great concern that the United States and some Western countries keep arming Ukraine.”

Pakistan has also called for resolving the Ukraine issue through dialogue.