ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday for winning the recently held election in his country, as both leaders discussed opportunities to enhance cooperation in trade and investment, Sharif’s office said.

Masoud Pezeshkian, a relatively moderate candidate, secured 53.7 percent or 16.3 million votes in Iran’s presidential election held on Friday, defeating hard-liner Saeed Jalili’s 13.5 million votes. The reformist-backed candidate, who is 69 years old, will replace Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a plane crash last month. 

In a post on social media platform X, PM Sharif said he spoke to Pezeshkian over the phone to congratulate him on his victory. 

“We discussed ways to enhance cooperation, particularly in trade, commerce & investment, and foster a stronger partnership for regional stability,” Sharif wrote on X. “As brothers and neighbors, our two countries have a shared vision for building a better future together for our peoples.”

Pakistan and Iran agreed to enhance bilateral trade between the two countries to $10 billion in April when Raisi arrived in Islamabad. 

Both countries signed memorandum of understandings and agreements covering different fields including trade, science and technology, agriculture, health, culture, and judicial matters.

Pakistan and Iran have had a history of rocky relations despite a number of commercial pacts, with Islamabad being historically closer to Saudi Arabia and the United States. Their highest profile agreement is a stalled gas supply deal signed in 2010 to build a pipeline from Iran’s South Fars gas field to Pakistan’s southern provinces of Balochistan and Sindh.

The two countries are also often at odds over instability on their shared porous border, with both routinely trading blame for not rooting out militancy.

Tensions surged in January when Pakistan and Iran exchanged airstrikes, both claiming to target alleged militant hideouts in each other’s countries. Both sides have since then undertaken peace overtures and restored bilateral ties.