Pezeshkian to sign trade agreements during Pakistan visit

ISLAMABAD: President Masoud Pezeshkian will sign multiple trade deals during his upcoming visit to Pakistan, said Iranian Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam who added that his country enjoyed complete support from Islamabad amid the Israeli aggression.

He said the Iranian president’s visit is meant to thank the Pakistani people and government for their unwavering backing.

Pezeshkian was initially scheduled to visit on July 26, but the ambassador said the Iranian president will now arrive on Sunday.

Reports suggest that the hectic schedule of Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar resulted in the change, as he spent over a week in the US, where he not only met State Secretary Marco Rubio but also attended the UN conference on the two-state solution.

Read more: Dar, Rubio discuss regional peace, counterterrorism efforts

France and Saudi co-chaired the event, which was previously planned in June. However, the 12-day war Iran-Israel war that also saw the US strikes on the Iranian nuclear facilities made the organisers postpone the much-awaited conference.

Meanwhile, Moghadam said there was no trade issue between Iran and Pakistan which could not be resolved.

Bilateral trade had increased in recent years, he added, as the two countries look forward to boost the trade volume and cooperation in different sectors.

Read more: Nine killed in courthouse attack in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province

As Iran is also dealing with the rising acts of terrorism, Moghadam said the recent decision to bar the pilgrims from using land route to visit holy sites in Iraq and Iran may have been induced by security concerns.

THE ‘HANGING’ PIPELINE

Any progress in Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline would be made according to the interests of the two countries, said Moghadam who was talking to Asma Shirazi — the host of HUM News programme “Faisla Aap ka” on Thursday.

The then presidents of the two countries — Asif Ali Zardari and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — had inaugurated the construction work on the Pakistani section the project on 11 March 2013.

But the US sanctions meant that there has been no progress on the project.

IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAMME

Meanwhile, the Iranian ambassador mentioned the Pakistani support as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government repeatedly condemned the Israeli aggression and extended full support to a peaceful Iranian nuclear programme.

Read more: Shehbaz says Pakistan supports peaceful Iranian nuclear programme

In this scenario, nuclear enrichment remains the sticking point between Iran and the US. Tehran isn’t ready to make any compromise while US President Donald Trump have even threatened fresh attacks.

Read more: Russia says it is immune to sanctions, fears more attacks on Iran