ISLAMABAD - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to arrive in Islamabad on the 22nd of this month on a two-day state visit to Pakistan. This would be Ebrahim Raisi’s first-ever visit to Pakistan since assuming the office of the Iranian President on August 23, 2021.
According to official sources, President Raisi would accompany a high-level cabinet delegation and senior officials which would assist him during the talks with Pakistani leadership.
Iranian President Raisi during his stay in Islamabad would hold talks with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari.
Several memoranda of understanding and agreements are also expected to be signed during the visit of the Iranian president, the drafts of these documents are being given final touches. The Iranian embassy in Islamabad is also hosting a grand reception in the honour of Iranian president. The official sources said that the leadership of both the countries would discuss not only bilateral relations but also touch on regional security situation, the common threat of terrorism, the future of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, and the situation in Gaza. Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran Muhammad Mudassir Tipu is holding frequent meetings with top Iranian officials in Tehran to finalize the agenda of the talks between the leadership of the two countries. President Asif Ali Zardari is expected to host a banquet in honour of the Iranian president at the President House which would also be attended by the Prime minister, speaker of the National Assembly, Chairman senate and other prominent political and business figures. President Raisi would also deliver a special message of the Iranian supreme leader Ayatullah Syed Ali Hosseini Khamenei to the Pakistani leadership. The visit by the Iranian president would further consolidate bilateral relations which were damaged in February during the military strike earlier by Iran on 16th January 2024 and the retaliatory strikes by Pakistan on 18th January. Following the attacks, Pakistan had recalled its ambassador from Iran and the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan was told to stay in Tehran. However, within a week of these strikes, the ambassadors from both sides resumed their work.