TEHRAN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday voiced his country's readiness to deepen and expand bilateral cooperation with Pakistan in various areas.
He made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi while highlighting the "excellent relations and deep bonds" between the two countries, according to a statement published on the website of Pezeshkian's office.
The Iranian president pointed to the "deep" historical, cultural, and people-to-people relations between the two countries, stressing that Tehran attaches great value to the Pakistani officials' interest in promoting solidarity and relations with Iran.
He expressed Iran's willingness to further deepen its relations with Pakistan in all areas of common interest and prepare the ground for the development of joint cooperation.
Pezeshkian said developing bilateral relations and deepening cooperation can help safeguard the two countries' mutual interests and strengthen regional stability and security.
The Pakistani interior minister, for his part, said his trip to Tehran is aimed at following up on the agreements reached during a recent visit by his Iranian counterpart, Eskandar Momeni, to Pakistan.
Naqvi described ties between the two countries as "strong, age-old and unbreakable," emphasizing that Islamabad pursues the expansion of all-out relations with Tehran.
The Pakistani minister arrived in Tehran earlier in the day and was welcomed by his Iranian counterpart. He, later in the day, met Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and discussed diplomatic and bilateral issues with him, according to the official news agency IRNA.
Over the past months, Pakistan has mediated peace talks between Iran and the United States and helped the two sides exchange messages. With Islamabad's mediation efforts, Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding on ending their war in June. ■
