President urges enhanced cultural, economic cooperation with Pakistan

 

President Rouhani made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif in Tehran.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to connect the countries by means of rail tracks, roads and laying fiber optic, said President Rouhani.

Iran and Pakistan have a very long border which play a significant role in maintaining both sidesˈ security, he said.

He called for expansion of cultural and economic cooperation between the two countries particularly along joint border regions.

Rouhani expressed the hope that development of power transmission network could play a leading role in expanding economic cooperation between the two neighboring states.

Describing the conditions for expansion of cooperation in border regions as suitable, he said the Iranian government and nation call for restoration of stability and security to borderlines and have always endeavored to secure the areas to protect neighbors.

Recent unfortunate border incidents have affected both sidesˈ public opinions, Rouhani said and lauded the close cooperation of the Pakistani government and nation for release of kidnapped Iranian border guards who were under captivity of terrorist groups.

The efforts of the Pakistani government to control and maintain the security of border lines would help speed up pace of development both in Pakistan and the whole region, he said.

Iran has made huge investments in Tehran-Islamabad gas pipeline project dubbed as ˈPeace Pipelineˈ and has properly displayed its commitments, he said.

Iran is keen to improve its relations with neighboring states and with Pakistan in particular, President Rouhani said.

Referring to expansion of economic and commercial relations between the two countries, he said there are no limits to expansion of all out cultural and economic relations with Pakistan.

The current visit of the Pakistani premier and his entourage to Tehran and the firm determination of the two sidesˈ officials can remove all existing barriers to promotion of relations between the two states, he said.

Terrorism has posed a serious threat to all countries of the region, he said.

All regional countries should take into account the fact that presence of terrorist groups will jeopardize peace and stability of the entire region, he said.

Iran and Pakistan as two big and Muslim countries of the region can persuade other countries to broaden their security cooperation in order to uproot terrorism and violence from the region, said the Iranian president.

Referring to Iran-Pakistan good cooperation within international organizations, he said such cooperation should expand to cover regional issues.

Referring to consolidated cultural, historical and geographical bonds between the two countries, Rouhani said the two states have a very close understanding of Islam and Holy Quran and can help upgrade level of cooperation among regional countries.

The visiting Pakistani premier, for his part, his visit to Tehran was aimed at opening a new chapter in balateral relations.

The Pakistani government believes that the level of economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries should be increased, he said.

Islamabad is determined to remove existing barriers to help speed up construction of gas pipeline between the two countries, said the Pakistani premier.

He expressed the hope that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries wdould increase in the near future.

Due to shortage of electricity in Pakistan, he called on Iran to help remove its power shortages.

Expressing regret over horrible border incident, he said Pakistan is among victims of terrorism that has suffered huge economic losses.

The Pakistani government is determined to foil plots to tarnish relations between the two countries, he said.

Iran and Pakistan should devise a common mechanism to monitor and control and encounter terrorist incidents, he said.

Pakistan had very close cooperation with Iran in busting Jundallah terrorist group, said the Pakistani premier, adding that the Islamabad government and nation are determined to fully cooperate with Iran in deal with terrorist groups mainly Jeishol Adl.

The Pakisrani premier arrived here earlier Sunday morning on a two-day official visit.