Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Friday during a meeting with Pakistani President Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Baku said that Iran and Pakistan have good potentials to develop their cooperation and Iran has made the development of cooperation with the countries of the region, including Pakistan, especially in the economic and trade spheres, a top priority in its policies.
Iranian President pointed to the numerous meetings of senior Iranian and Pakistani officials in recent years and the role of these meetings in developing more and more joint cooperation, and said, "Within the framework of these meetings, good agreements have been made in the fields of science, research and energy, including the Peace Pipeline (The Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline, also known as the Peace pipeline, or IP Gas. "We hope that these agreements will be implemented as soon as possible to the benefit of both nations and the region.
Condemning the US unilateral policies in the international and regional arenas, President Rouhani said that Iran continues to live up to its commitments despite the US' unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA.
President Rouhani also praised Pakistan's efforts to stabilize the region and establish security at the common borders, stating that the two countries' cooperation in the fight against terrorism is paramount.
Referring to the fact that the governments of Iran and Pakistan have always been in the international and regional assemblies and supported each other, Rouhani said, "We believe that the problems of the region have no solution but to negotiate."
At the meeting, the Pakistani president called for increasing the volume of Pakistan-Iran trade exchanges.
President Arif- Alvi said that while the Pakistani people have deep and long-standing ties to the Iranian people, they value and appreciate the Iranians' resistance to obstacles and difficulties, They have overcome crises and challenges and can certainly overcome problems afterwards.
In support of JCPOA agreement, he said US' unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA has raised worldwide concerns.
The Pakistani president also called Pakistan's prime minister's visit to Iran and Saudi Arabia very fruitful, and said he hoped Pakistan would, like Iran, believe that the region's problems would only be resolved at the negotiating table. And in line with this policy, it is using its full potential to create an atmosphere of dialogue between countries in the region.
The 18th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) with the participation of the heads of 60 countries, including President Rouhani, kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan on Friday.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 developing world states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
President Rouhani arrived in Baku on Thursday to attend the 18th NAM Summit , President Rouhani was invited to the NAM summit meeting by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.
At the NAM Baku Summit, the Republic of Azerbaijan will take over the chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement for the next 3 years.
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