Pak Sahafat – At the same time as the official relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia began, the former ambassador of Pakistan in Kuwait considered the normalization of relations between Tehran and Riyadh to provide important economic and energy opportunities for Islamabad and emphasized that Pakistan should trade with Iran at the same time as attracting more investments from Saudi Arabia.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency’s report on Thursday, “Syed Sajjad Haider” said in an article for the Strateia analytical site entitled Pakistan’s opportunities from the Iran-Saudi agreement: Pakistan is interested in maintaining cordial and brotherly relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia in the region. In the past, these relations were deeply affected by some challenges such as cross-border terrorism and sectarian conflicts, while a balanced approach towards both countries is important to address such challenges.
He, who worked as the ambassador of Pakistan in Kuwait, added: The arch-rivals of West Asia have signed a formal declaration to resume bilateral ties after several rounds of heated talks facilitated by China. They agreed to reopen their diplomatic missions in their respective capitals. In the meantime, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan issued a statement on March 10, recalling its balanced approach in relations with both countries, and called the normalization of relations an “important diplomatic progress” that will surely contribute to peace and stability in the region.
Sajjad Haider stated that Pakistan will now be able to develop diplomatic relations and maintain a better balance in interaction and cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, because this development provides opportunities for Pakistan in the fields of trade and energy. Pakistan can benefit from increased economic cooperation with both countries. Considering the economic chaos inside the country that the people of Pakistan are facing in recent years, Islamabad should take steps towards increasing trade with Iran and benefit from Saudi investment opportunities and even joint ventures.
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He emphasized that Pakistan has a big contribution in the successful deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The country shares a long border with Iran and, despite its strong military cooperation with Riyadh, has in some cases rejected Saudi requests, such as sending troops. At the same time, Pakistan needs to organize its political and economic situation inside to effectively exploit the Tehran-Riyadh agreement.
Hossein Amir abdollahian and Faisal bin Farhan, the foreign ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia, met and discussed in Beijing this morning.
After this meeting, the foreign ministers signed a joint statement with the presence of the Chinese foreign minister, and while agreeing to reopen the embassies of the two countries at the agreed time, they emphasized their readiness to remove the obstacles facing the expansion of cooperation.
Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, started intensive negotiations with his Saudi counterpart in China in order to follow up on the agreements of Raisi’s visit to Beijing in February.