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EXPLAINER

Why is Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi visiting Pakistan?

Raisi is set to hold talks with top Pakistani leaders as the two nations aim to boost trade and resolve border issues.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, left, walks with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a welcome ceremony in the prime minister house in Islamabad on April 22. [Prime Minister Office via AP]

By Sarah Shamim

Published On 22 Apr 202422 Apr 2024

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Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is in Pakistan on a three-day trip to discuss regional and bilateral relations days after Iran and Israel carried out attacks against each other, risking the Gaza war to expand into a regional conflict.

Raisi is scheduled to hold talks with top Pakistani leadership, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as the two neighbours seek to mend ties after tit-for-tat missile attacks in January.

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Local media reported that Raisi will also meet General Asim Munir, the head of Pakistan’s military, which wields huge political and economic influence in the South Asian nation.

What’s the agenda of the trip?

Raisi arrived in the capital, Islamabad, on Monday as the two neighbours aim to boost economic, border and energy ties.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, in line with the neighbourhood policy … is interested in promoting relations with Pakistan and during this trip, various issues including economic and commercial issues, energy and border issues will be discussed with the government of Pakistan,” a statement by the Iranian presidential office said on Monday.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for improving bilateral ties.

“The two sides will have a wide-ranging agenda to further strengthen Pakistan-Iran ties and enhance cooperation in diverse fields including trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, and people-to-people contacts,” the statement said.

The Iranian president will visit major cities, including Lahore and Karachi, and focus on bilateral and trade ties, it said.

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Mosharraf Zaidi, a partner at advisory services firm Tabadlab and former adviser to the Foreign Ministry, told Al Jazeera in a written statement that Raisi’s trip is “an effort to secure an expression of support from Islamabad and Rawalpindi [military leadership] for Iran – as it stumbles deeper into a dangerous conflict with Israel”.

Zaidi added that Iran’s strategic thinkers are aware that Pakistan has both a domestic political crisis and a growing range of economic compulsions that limit the range of movement on Pakistan’s engagement in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.