ISLAMABAD  -  Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to arrive in Islamabad on the 22nd of this month on a two-day state visit to Pakistan. This would be Ebrahim Raisi’s first-ever visit to Pakistan since assuming the office of the Iranian President on August 23, 2021.

According to official sources, President Raisi would accompa­ny a high-level cabinet delega­tion and senior officials which would assist him during the talks with Pakistani leadership. 

Iranian President Raisi during his stay in Islamabad would hold talks with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari.

Several memoranda of un­derstanding and agreements are also expected to be signed during the visit of the Iranian president, the drafts of these docu­ments are being given fi­nal touches. The Iranian embassy in Islamabad is also hosting a grand re­ception in the honour of Iranian president. The of­ficial sources said that the leadership of both the countries would discuss not only bilateral rela­tions but also touch on re­gional security situation, the common threat of ter­rorism, the future of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, and the situation in Gaza. Pakistan’s ambas­sador to Iran Muhammad Mudassir Tipu is holding frequent meetings with top Iranian officials in Teh­ran to finalize the agen­da of the talks between the leadership of the two countries. President Asif Ali Zardari is expected to host a banquet in honour of the Iranian president at the President House which would also be attended by the Prime minister, speak­er of the National Assem­bly, Chairman senate and other prominent political and business figures. Pres­ident Raisi would also de­liver a special message of the Iranian supreme lead­er Ayatullah Syed Ali Hos­seini Khamenei to the Pa­kistani leadership. The visit by the Iranian pres­ident would further con­solidate bilateral relations which were damaged in February during the mili­tary strike earlier by Iran on 16th January 2024 and the retaliatory strikes by Pakistan on 18th Janu­ary. Following the attacks, Pakistan had recalled its ambassador from Iran and the Iranian ambassa­dor to Pakistan was told to stay in Tehran. Howev­er, within a week of these strikes, the ambassadors from both sides resumed their work.