ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has called for closer cooperation with Iran on countering militancy and drug trafficking along with border management, state media reported on Wednesday.
Naqvi’s remarks came during his day-long visit to Iran to attend the Economic Cooperation Organization’s (ECO) Ministerial Conference, where he held separate meetings with his Iranian counterpart Eskandar Momeni and Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Ardeshir Larijani.
The meetings focused on counterterrorism, anti-narcotics efforts, and improved border management between the two countries, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
“We are keen to expand cooperation with Iran, especially in the areas of security and counter-narcotics,” APP quoted Naqvi as saying.
“We wish to benefit from each other’s experiences on internal security matters.”
During the meetings, both sides called for “closer collaboration and institutional linkages” to address shared challenges, with Larijani describing the talks as “encouraging and constructive.”
Earlier in October, Pakistan and Iran agreed to form a joint committee to resolve border trade and logistics issues between the two nations.
The two countries share a 900-kilometer porous border, which they hope can help boost their transport and energy sectors as part of broader efforts to enhance regional connectivity and economic integration.
However, militancy along the shared border encompassing Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province and Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province has hindered trade and logistics.
Both regions are restive, mineral-rich and largely underdeveloped due to decades of insurgencies.
Islamabad and Tehran have also voiced their desire in recent months to increase bilateral trade to $10 billion.
