ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Tuesday that he would direct the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan to follow the implementation of agreements concluded between Pakistan and Iran, adding that his top priority was to expedite to implementation of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and the import of electricity.

 

He made the remarks in a discussion with Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Alireza Haghinghian.

 

The prime minister said that he had an extremely useful meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his visit to Islamabad to take part in a tri-lateral meeting.

 

He said that Iran and Pakistan were undertaking excellent multi-dimensional cooperation in the fields of trade, infrastructure, energy and culture.

 

Gilani underscored the importance of people-to-people contacts, visits of parliamentarians and exchanges at high levels to further strengthen relations on a durable basis between the two brotherly neighboring countries.

 

He extended his deep sense of gratitude to the people of Iran and the Iranian government for extending generous assistance to the flood and rain victims in Pakistan.

 

He hoped that the opening of a Pakistan consulate at Bandar Abbas would be expedited as it would reduce the distance for Pakistani visitors to almost 1000km due to its location near Pakistan border.

 

The prime minister said that both the countries were committed to defeat extremism and terrorism. Pakistan and Iran are working to bring stability to Afghanistan because stability in the country means stability in the whole region, Gilani said.

 

The prime minister recalled that he had represented Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in attending the funeral of Imam Khomenei.

 

Gilani asked the Ambassador to extend his best wishes to the president, senior vice president and the Iranian interior minister and the governors of Mashhad and Gilan.

 

The prime minister expressed his confidence that the new ambassador to Pakistan would further strengthen relations between the two countries during his diplomatic assignment.

 

The envoy said Pakistan-Iran relations were moving in the right direction. He apprised the PM that negotiations regarding the purchase of wheat and rice from Pakistan had completed. The ambassador also said that two Pakistani delegations, representing water and power and oil and gas, were visiting Iran.

 

The ambassador highlighted the importance of collaboration in the banking sector, which would help realize the full potential of trade between the two countries.

 

The ambassador conveyed the condolences of the Iranian people and the leadership over last week’s plane crash near Islamabad.

 

(Source: agencies)