TEHRAN (FNA)- Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Islamabad attaches much value to its relations with Iran, and underlined the need for accelerating development of ties between the two neighboring states, given the two nations' political, geographical and cultural commonalities.
Speaking to reporters during a joint press conference with Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi here in Tehran on Tuesday, the Pakistani premier voiced pleasure in his meetings with senior Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Vice-President Rahimi and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.
He said that during the meetings, the two sides have discussed promotion of economic relations and described priorities, including building road and rail connections as well as energy cooperation "as we believe that these areas of cooperation would promote peace and stability in the region".
Accelerated expedition of a multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline project which is due to take Iran's gas reserves to Pakistan and export of 1000 MW of Iranian-generated electricity to Pakistan have been among the main points touched in the talks between the Pakistani premier and Iranian officials, according to Gilani.
Cooperation in facing security challenges and campaign against terrorism, extremism and drug-trafficking and goods smuggling was among other areas of our discussions, he added.
According to Gilani, the two countries agreed to increase bilateral trade to $10bln from the current $1.2bln.
Gilani said two committees, one headed by foreign ministers and the other by interior ministers, would meet on a regular basis to make their borders safe and work out ways of boosting economic activities and trade.
He said there was a paradigm shift in Pakistan's foreign policy and it wanted to forge close relations with its neighbors. Iran, he added, was one of the countries with which it would like to develop 'very close relations' as it is a very important regional state and a neighbor of Pakistan.
Pakistan has requested to open a consulate in the port city of Bandar Abbas in Southern Iran and a cultural center in Tehran, Gilani said, reminding that the move would narrow down the gap between the two nations.
Gilani arrived in Tehran at the head of a high-ranking politico-economic delegation on Sunday and met with top Iranian officials to discuss expansion of all-out ties and cooperation.
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکِستان) is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west,India in the east and China in the far northeast.[7] Tajikistan also lies very close to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Strategically, Pakistan is located in a position between the important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the greater Middle East.[8]
The region forming modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures including theneolithic Mehrgarh and the bronze era Indus Valley Civilisation. Subsequently it was the recipient of Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, and Sikh cultures through several invasions and/or settlements. As a result the area has remained a part of numerous empires and dynasties including the Indian empires, Persian empires, Arab caliphates, Mongol,Mughal, Sikh and British Empire. Pakistan gained independence from the British Empire in 1947 after a struggle for independence, led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that sought the partition of India and the creation of an independent state for the Muslim majority populations of the eastern and western regions of British India.[9] With the adoption of its constitution in 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic republic.[10] In 1971, an armed conflict in East Pakistan resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.[11]
Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of four provinces and four federal territories. With over 170 million people, it is the sixth most populous country in the world[2] and has the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia.[12] It is an ethnically andlinguistically diverse country with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. With a semi-industrialized economy, it is the 27th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power. Since gaining independence, Pakistan's history has been characterised by periods of military rule,political instability and conflicts with neighbouring India. The country faces challenging problems including terrorism, poverty, illiteracy and corruption.
Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed force and is the only Muslim-majority nation to possess nuclear weapons. It is designated as a major non-NATO ally of the United States and a strategic ally of China.[13][14] It is a founding member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation)[15] and a member of the United Nations,[16] Commonwealth of Nations,[17] Next Eleven economies and the G20 developing nations.
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