Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Iran and Turkiye from July 3 to July 5, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirmed on Thursday.

Addressing a weekly briefing, Andrabi said that during his visit to Iran, the premier would participate in the funeral of late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes on February 28.

The FO spokesperson said PM Shehbaz will travel to Iran first for Khamenei’s funeral. Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, cabinet members and senior officials will accompany the premier on his visit.

“The prime minister will convey condolences on behalf of the people and government of Pakistan to the Iranian leadership and the bereaved families while reaffirming solidarity with the brotherly nation in their hour of profound grief,” he said.

PM Shehbaz will then visit Istanbul at the invitation of Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Andrabi said.

He added that the premier will “hold discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral relations with a special focus on giving impetus to bilateral trade and investment cooperation between the two brotherly countries”.

“The leadership meeting will also reflect on issues concerning regional peace and security.”

The prime minister will also address a business conference hosted by Pakistan to “spotlight Pakistan’s trade and investment potential in priority areas, including SEZs (special economic zones), energy, trade, IT and privatisation sectors”, Andrabi said.

He noted that the conference would bring together leading Turkish businessmen and investors alongside senior officials, dignitaries and other distinguished participants from the business community.

The FO spokesperson highlighted that PM Shehbaz’s visits to Iran and Turkiye “reflect Pakistan’s deep-rooted, historic, cultural and fraternal ties with the two brotherly nations”.

Speaking about the US-Iran war, Andrabi noted that Islamabad has “stepped up its diplomatic engagement with key regional and international stakeholders as well as the principal interlocutors to facilitate earnest follow-up and implementation” of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed between the warring parties on June 18.

He highlighted that “positive progress [was] made on issues related to the different aspects of the Islamabad MoU” during the US-Iran talks held in Doha on Tuesday, which continued into the morning.

Andrabi affirmed that Pakistan will “continue to play a facilitative and mediatory role in the negotiation process along with our Qatari partners”.

He recalled that in that regard, Dar also continued with “high-level consultations” as he spoke to several counterparts on the phone in recent days.

More to follow