Ebrahim Raisi’s Three Days Visit To Pakistan
The three-day state visit of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is taking as an important political trip in the wake of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. It is worth noting that the President of India is in Pakistan to meet PM Shehbaz Sharif whom he is in talks to boost trade and heightened issues going on in the Middle East. Mr Raisi’s three-day visit to Pakistan is considered to be an important visit and it is interesting to watch what outcome this meeting will have. As of now, this visit is taken as an opportunity to boost trade within the countries. He landed in Pakistan on Monday, April 22 and will be in the country till Wednesday, April 24.
Another reason behind looking at this trip as an important affair is that both nations had carried out cross-border airstrikes on rival lands a few months ago. As we mentioned above, the Iranian President’s visit comes when tensions remained heightened in the Middle East after Iran launched its countering attack against Israel earlier this month which risked the Gaza war to expand into a regional battle. Through this trip, states’ heads are seen discussing regional and bilateral relations. With this trip, both neighbouring countries tried to mend their relations after the missile attacks. As per the reports, the Iranian President is likely to meet important leaders of Pakistan.
The Iranian President is accompanied by his wife and a high-level delegation that includes the foreign minister, senior officials, important members of the cabinet, and large business delegations. The official statement states that the visit of Raisi from April 22 to 24 would be the “first visit by any Head of State to Pakistan after the general elections in February 2024.”
He is also looking forward to holding a meeting with the head of Pakistan’s military, General Asim Munir. This meeting will wield huge economic and political influence in both neighbouring nations. Mr Raisi landed on Monday in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. A statement released by the presidential office of Iran on Monday, April 22 reads that “The Islamic Republic of Iran, in line with the neighbourhood policy… is interested in promoting relations with Pakistan and during this trip, various issues including economic and commercial issues, energy and border issues will be discussed with the government of Pakistan.”
Also Read: The Iran-Israel War: A Battle of Defense Systems
With this released statement the agenda behind the state visit to Iran is clear and taken as an optimistic approach. Before the statement of the Iranian presidential office, a statement has been released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan on Sunday, 21 April in which the country gives hope to improve bilateral ties in both neighbouring countries. The statement of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs read, “The two sides will have a wide-ranging agenda to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran ties and enhance cooperation in diverse fields including trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, and people-to-people contacts.”
During the visit, the President of Iran will visit major cities of Pakistan including Karachi and Lahore. The focus of both nations is to mend bilateral and trade ties to boost economic growth. During a media interaction, Mosharraf Zaidi, a partner at advisory services firm Tabadlab and former adviser to the Foreign Ministry said that the trip of the Iranian President is “an effort to secure an expression of support from Islamabad and Rawalpindi (military leadership) for Iran- as it stumbles deeper into a dangerous conflict with Israel.”
