TEHRAN- Hina Rabbani, Pakistan’s state minister for foreign affairs, has said the role of Iran and Pakistan are crucial to ensuring long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Rabbani made the remarks in a meeting on Tuesday with Mohammad Ali Hosseini, the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan.

In reference to her visit with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on the heels of the fourth Foreign Ministerial Meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbors in Samarkand last week, Rabbani emphasized the crucial contributions that Pakistan and Iran make to regional stability, particularly when it comes to matters pertaining to Afghanistan.

Regarding the resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Rabbani also said Pakistan warmly welcomes restoration of ties between Tehran and Riyadh.

The conversation between Pakistan’s state minister for foreign affairs and Ambassador Hosseini focused on the importance of building strong political, economic, and commercial connections between Islamabad and Tehran.

Hosseini stated that commerce between Iran and Pakistan has grown greatly in recent years and is projected to grow further by enhancing infrastructure at the two nations’ borders.

Hosseini and Rabbani discussed increasing Iran’s electricity exports to Pakistan as well as arranging the formal opening of the Pishin-Mand border market.

The discussion also covered ways to activate bilateral cooperation mechanism such the Political Advisory Committee, Joint Consular Commission, and Special Committee on Security.

The Iranian ambassador also met separately with Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. During the talks, the Pakistani officials stressed the significance of advancing high-level consultations between the two friendly and neighboring countries in order to deepen bilateral cooperation in a variety of areas.