Pakistan and Iran on Saturday agreed on adopting a regional approach to address the growing challenge of extremism and militancy.
President Asif Ali Zardari forwarded the proposal during his meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. Zardari also proposed a currency swap agreement between Pakistan and Iran to further strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties between the two brotherly countries.
He said Pakistan was already in negotiations with Turkey, Sri Lanka and China for a currency swap arrangement.
President Zardari arrived in the Iranian capital for a day-long visit to hold two rounds of talks with President Ahmedinejad, a delegation-level talk and a one-on-one meeting.
Both Zardari and Ahmedinejad expressed confidence that joint efforts would prove helpful in countering terrorism, which was a common enemy of the entire region as well as the world. President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar told reporters later that Zardari held parleys on a host of issues with President Ahmedinejad, focusing on establishing a comprehensive strategic and economic partnership between the two countries.
The two leaders expressed their resolve to upgrade and further intensify their existing bilateral ties, particularly in the energy, trade and economic fields, for the mutual benefit.
Stronger ties: The two sides agreed on the need to expand, strengthen and take their bilateral cooperation in diverse fields to the level, which commensurate their warm, deep rooted and historic ties. Zardari also proposed to the Iranian government to consider creating an Integrated Border Management Regime between Pakistan and Iran, adding that both the sides needed to intensify consultations and take pragmatic steps for meeting the challenge of militancy and extremism.