Premier Gilani to visit Iran from Sunday

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will visit Iran from September 11 to 13 to hold talks with the Iranian leadership and discuss regional situation.

"The recent visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to Pakistan and his meetings with Pakistani leaders will provide important substantive inputs into the visit by the Prime Minister Gilani to Iran," Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said at the weekly press briefing on Thursday.

The prime minister will hold indepth discussions with the Iranian leadership on strengthening bilateral relations and exchange views on regional situation, she said here at the Foreign Office.

"Pakistan's foreign policy priority is to have the best relations with our neighbours," she added.

The spokesperson said as part of the focused regional outreach, the President Asif Ali Zardari visited Urumqi and Tajikistan while Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani visited Kazakhstan over the past two weeks.

She said Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is currently in Islamabad for the meeting of the Joint Economic Commission. Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is representing Pakistan in this meeting.

"Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic Commission aims at strengthening the bilateral economic relations," she added.

Referring to the Iranian Foreign Minister's visit to Pakistan, she said, high in priority in this regard are enhancing transportation and communication links, and important projects in the energy sector besides enhancing mutually beneficial economic cooperation and trade including preferential tariff arrangements.

Replying to a question about Indian missile shield programme, the spokesperson said Pakistan does not want militarization of the region.

She rejected Indian concern over developmental activities by China in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and said "development of any region is sovereign right of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir".

She appreciated China for providing assistance for development of parts of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.

Replying to the another question, Tehmina Janjua confirmed that Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had assured Prime Minister Gilani that his country would no longer oppose European Union concessions with respect to grant of market access to 70 Pakistani products in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

She said the assurance was reiterated during Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's visit to New Delhi.

The spokesperson hoped that the Indian position would facilitate forward movement when the issue is again taken up by the World Trade Organization next month. She, however, indicated that there were still some technical problems like reservations by some other countries.

The spokesperson appreciated the fact that the Indian leadership did not indulge in blame game after yesterday's blast in New Delhi.

She pointed out that immediately after the attack, the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan strongly condemned it.

Replying to a question of arrest of three senior Al-Qaeda leaders and its reflection on the improvement in Pakistan-US cooperation, she said there was strategic convergence between the two countries.

Answering a question on the terrorism issue, she said Pakistan was one of the most affected countries by terrorism as it has suffered on daily basis.

"Pakistan wants to eliminate terrorism from its territory as it was in our national interest to do so and there is a consensus in this regard in the country," she added.

On the situation in Libya, the spokesperson said Pakistan has brotherly relations with that country.

She said, "Pakistan expresses total solidarity with Libya and our embassy is also functional there."

She said, as decided at Dushanbe Quadrilateral Summit, the next summit would be held in Islamabad and hoped that in view of the commitment of the four countries, leaders of all the member countries would attend the summit.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011