Iranian president to visit Pakistan Tuesday

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will pay a one-day visit to Pakistan on Tuesday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The visit will be Pezeshkian’s first overseas visit since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran in late February.

The Iranian president will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers and other high-ranking officials, a ministry statement said.

Pakistan has played the main role as a mediator since the April 8 ceasefire between the warring sides, which agreed to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to end the war and held direct talks in Switzerland over the weekend.

During the visit, Pezeshkian will hold talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who chaired the US-Iran-Pakistan-Qatar talks in the Swiss lake city of Burgenstock on Sunday.

The two sides will discuss bilateral relations and new avenues to enhance cooperation across diverse sectors, including trade, energy, border security, people-to-people exchanges, and regional connectivity, the ministry said.

Islamabad and Tehran will also discuss ongoing diplomatic engagements following the signing of the memorandum between the US and Iran, as well as regional and international developments of mutual interest, it added.

The forthcoming visit reflects the "shared commitment of Pakistan and Iran to further deepen their historic and cultural ties and underscores their common aspiration for peace, stability, and sustainable progress in the region," the ministry said.

Pezeshkian paid a state visit to Pakistan last August.