Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the Islamic Republic and Pakistan can play an effective role in fighting terrorism and extremism through cooperation.
“Tehran and Islamabad can turn regional developments to the favor of nations, peace and security by increasing their level of cooperation and with the help of Middle East countries,” Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday.
He made the remarks in meeting with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of the 10th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana.
Referring to the capacity of Iran and Pakistan to increase bilateral cooperation, Ahmadinejad said expanding economic collaboration and cultural interaction would benefit both countries as well as regional nations.
Zardari, for his part, stressed the necessity of fighting terrorism and extremism and said “cooperating with Iran in this field could produce effective results.”
President Ahmadinejad arrived in Astana early on Tuesday to attend the SCO summit.
The SCO, which groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, is an intergovernmental security organization established in 2001 by leaders of the six nations.
Iran, Pakistan, India and Mongolia have observer seats at the organization. Afghanistan also takes part in some SCO summits as a guest member. Press TV
