TEHRAN – A senior Iranian lawmaker has said that the Iranian parliament will table a special package for the development of relations between Iran and Pakistan. 

The lawmaker, Vahid Jalalzadeh, who is the head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the remarks at a gathering hosted by Pakistan Council on Foreign Relations in Karachi. 

Jalalzadeh has paid a visit to Pakistan at the head of an Iranian parliamentary delegation. 

He lauded the cultural commonalities between Iran and Pakistan, saying, “Persian language is a strong factor of the proximity of two neighboring countries and both countries are proud to recognize each other as the first country.”

Jalalzadeh added, “As Ayatollah Raisi, the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has emphasized, we do not consider any limits to expand bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in all fields. The heads of the two countries have had two official meetings in the last one year and we will see another meeting soon.” 

He noted, “We will certainly put a special case for the development of relations with Pakistan on the table of the Islamic Majlis. The main focus is on expanding commercial and economic cooperation between the two countries and encouraging governments to use mutual capabilities, especially persuading the private sector in order to identify the capacities of Iran and Pakistan.

According to Jalalzadeh, the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes China's investment in Pakistan, and everyone in Iran wants a prosperous, developed and stable Pakistan.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will never involve any third country in the discussion of bilateral relations, either with Pakistan or other countries, and what is important to us is maintaining and achieving bilateral interests,” he said, according to IRIB News.

Hossein Nourian, Iran’s consul-general in Karachi, also addressed the gathering, underlining the need for the expansion of trade between Tehran and Islamabad. 

“The two neighboring countries intend to use the common borders not as a threat but as a special opportunity to strengthen people-to-people relations and develop bilateral trade,” he said. “The level of trade between Iran and Pakistan crossed two billion dollars for the first time last year, and the two countries are trying to increase these relations to five billion dollars in the first step.”

Pakistan has recently appointed a new ambassador to Iran that has extensive experience working in China, a Pakistani news outlet reported.

The new ambassador, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, previously served as the Director General (China) and Consul General to Chengdu, Gwadar Pro reported. 

This appointment is seen as a positive development that can foster closer ties between Pakistan, China, and Iran, particularly in the context of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the outlet added. 

Song Zhihui, the Director of the Pakistan Study Center at Sichuan University, underlined the importance of the appointment of Tipu. He highlighted that Iran's growing geopolitical importance, particularly in light of the Saudi-Iranian reconciliation facilitated by China, makes this assignment crucial, according to the Pakistani outlet.