TEHRAN—On Friday, Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Ezzatollah Zarghami, and Pakistan President Arif Alvi discussed ways to underpin tourism relations between the two neighboring countries.

Alvi and Zarghami explored ways to strengthen cultural and people-to-people ties between the two nations in meeting held in Islamabad, IRNA reported.

President Alvi expressed his satisfaction over the meeting, stating that Pakistan highly values its relationship with Iran, based on historical, cultural, and religious ties, the report said.

The meeting was also attended by Reza Amiri Moghaddam, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani tourism brand called “Salaam Pakistan” was unveiled in a ceremony on Friday attended by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Zarghami.

During the ceremony, Zarghami received a plaque of commemoration for the "Salaam Pakistan" brand from the Pakistani prime minister.

Zarghami, traveled to Islamabad to attend the Developing Eight (D-8) Organization for Economic Cooperation’s tourism conference.

Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on Thursday said that the relations between the two neighbors are rooted in historical linkages and based on religious, linguistic, cultural similarities and spiritual affiliation, The News International reported.

Expressing these views in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at the Parliament House, Sanjrani pointed out that people-to-people relations between Pakistan and Iran have been fostered over generations, based on shared linguistic, religious, and cultural ties. “These relations can be further enhanced by encouraging cultural exchanges, tourism, and understanding across areas of mutual interest.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the official highlighted the importance of religious tourism between the two countries and emphasized further enhancing religious tourism, fostering closer ties and mutual respect among our citizens.

“Trade relations between our two countries have been the key to our economic cooperation and there is a scope for further facilitating this, including improved border trade practices, which could be a viable option for improving our economic ties,” he noted.

AFM