Iranian Delegation to Visit Pakistan
Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni will lead a high-ranking delegation to Pakistan soon, aiming to expand cooperation between the neighboring countries across multiple sectors, Iranian state media reported on Saturday. The announcement was made during a joint press conference by Momeni and Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is visiting Tehran along with senior Pakistani civil and military officials to attend the funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Delegation Composition
“This delegation will include senior officials from the ministries of agriculture, industry, mining and trade, roads and urban development, foreign affairs, cultural heritage, tourism, and handicrafts,” the Iranian state-run IRNA news agency reported. Naqvi was quoted as saying in the report that arrangements had already been made for the Iranian delegation’s visit to Islamabad. This will be Momeni’s second visit to Pakistan this year.
Background of Cooperation
The development comes after Pakistan and Iran agreed to deepen cooperation in trade, agriculture, and security during meetings held alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Islamabad in June. In June, Pakistan’s Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain and Iranian Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh discussed ways to expand bilateral trade in agricultural products including meat, rice, and mangoes. They also addressed procedural bottlenecks that have been hindering commerce between the two neighboring countries.
Meat Imports and Trade Goals
Tehran had expressed interest in sourcing up to 60 percent of its meat imports from Pakistan. Both sides also pledged closer cooperation on counterterrorism and cybersecurity. Hussain and Ghezeljeh also reviewed progress on previous understandings and agreed to implement the commitments outlined in a joint communiqué within the next two months. They directed relevant authorities to expedite procedures and remove obstacles impeding trade growth.
Pilgrimage Facilitation
The report said it was also decided that Iran would facilitate the land travel of Pakistani pilgrims for this year’s Arbaeen (Arabic for “forty”), a major Shia religious festival marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussain, who was martyred in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. Thousands of Pakistanis travel to Iran and Iraq each year to visit religious sites.
Strategic Ties
Pakistan and Iran are seeking to translate recent diplomatic cooperation into deeper economic and strategic ties after Islamabad facilitated contacts between Tehran and Washington to secure a ceasefire and an interim peace agreement to end the Middle East conflict.
