Iran, Pakistan to sign parliamentary MoU in January: Iranian MP

ISLAMABAD: Iran-Pakistan friendship group head and member of Iranian parliament Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani on Friday said Tehran and Islamabad are determined to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance parliamentary cooperation.

In an interview with IRNA, Farahani said Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq is scheduled to travel to Iran in January to sign the MoU with Iranian Speaker Ali Larijani.

He said that strong cooperation between parliaments of Iran and Pakistan can also help strengthening ties between the two neighbouring states.

The lawmaker said for past decades parliaments of Iran and Pakistan have been enjoying strong relations. “Pakistani Senate chairman Raza Rabbani and Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq visited Iran this year, while Iran Majlis (parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani visited Pakistan to participate in the recent Speakers Conference in Islamabad.”

He also said two parliamentary delegations from Iran will visit Pakistan very soon.

“During the previous meetings, Iran and Pakistani parliamentarians explored options to further enhance their cooperation. We focused more on those issues which have been given less attention like economic and trade ties.”’

Farahani said, “During the visit of Iranian speaker to Pakistan, a representative of the Central Bank of Iran was in his delegation for the resumption banking ties with Pakistan. Representatives of both Iranian and Pakistani central banks had a useful discussion.”

He said that Iran and Pakistan were heading towards taking some major steps on border management, adding that there was a need to enhance more cooperation between Zahedan (Iran) and Quetta cities.

The Iranian MP said discussions are underway for the visits of Iran Parliament’s Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security Chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi to Gwadar, and his Pakistani counterpart to Chabahar.