Iran Press/ Asia: Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on Wednesday night, pointing out that this visit was made in response to the invitation of Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, added: "Since 2 days ago, the economic teams of the two countries have held their talks in Islam Abad, we will discuss political, economic, border and tourism issues in the meetings we will have with the foreign minister and senior officials of Pakistan."
Iran and Pakistan share more than 900 kilometers of common border and have many common interests and concerns. For this reason, consultations between the authorities of the two countries have always been established; however, after the 13th government of Iran began to work and gave priority to neighbors and Islamic countries in foreign policy, as well as following political developments in Pakistan, consultations and relations between the two countries also increased.
Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, met on the sidelines of the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in September 2022 and emphasized the expansion of relations between the two countries.
Just a few days after this meeting, the heads of these two neighboring countries also met in New York, and on May 18, 2023, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Prime Minister of Pakistan jointly inaugurated the Mand-Pisin border market and the Pollan-Jiwani electricity exchange line at the Pishin border crossing.
It is clear that Iran and Pakistan have religious, cultural and customs commonalities and because of their neighborhood, trade costs between the two countries are relatively low and provide benefits to both sides. Border terminals, rail and road transport and markets are a good opportunity to help develop bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries; Also, trade from Pakistan to Iran and then to Türkiye can also connect Pakistan to Europe through the Eco railway line. According to the estimates, with the creation of the necessary infrastructure, trade between the two countries can increase up to 14 billion dollars per year.
Among the other issues of interest to Iran and Pakistan are the developments in Afghanistan and the need to establish peace and stability in this neighboring country. The fight against terrorism and drug trafficking and the existence of common borders have made the security cooperation of the two countries necessary in this field; Also, the lack of security in Pakistan's borders with Iran is one of the important issues that have caused problems for both countries. Some terrorist groups are operating on the border between Pakistan and Iran with the support of foreign services.
Meanwhile, it should be kept in mind that Iran-China and Pakistan-China strategic relations have created new opportunities for cooperation, including in security fields; In this regard, the three countries of Iran, Pakistan, and China held a meeting in Beijing on June 7 about various issues, including the regional situation of countering terrorism and countering cross-border terrorists, and to institutionalize the consultation mechanism between China, Iran, and Pakistan in the field of security as well as dealing with terrorism, they made decisions.
Obviously, the commonalities and variety of issues in the relations between the two neighboring countries of Iran and Pakistan are very high, and accordingly, the three-day visit of the Iranian Foreign Minister to Pakistan can be considered an opportunity to increase the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries; The head of Iran's diplomatic service has said that a new chapter in the relations between the two countries has begun in the 13th government after the meeting of the high ranking officials s of the two countries at the common Mand-Pisin border crossing.
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