LAHORE: In a meeting with Ali Akbar Wilayati, adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei on foreign affairs, in Tehran on Wednesday, former president Asif Ali Zardari stressed the need for enhancing trade and economic relations and greater cooperation in the energy sector between the two countries.

Mr Zardari was in Tehran to take part in the first international conference on World Against Violence and Extremism organised by the Iranian Institute of Political and International Studies.

According to a press release issued here by the PPP, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran Nur Mohammad Jadmani, Senator Farhat—ullah Babar and Iran’s former ambassador in Islamabad MashaAllah Shakiri and other senior officials of the Iranian foreign office atten—ded the meeting.

Mr Zardari said the two countries could mutually benefit from barter trade to ease the pressure on their foreign exchange reserves. He said that surplus wheat in Sindh could be exported to Iran under barter system in return for building by Iran of some infrastructure projects in the province and commodity imports from Tehran.

He said the Muslim world was confronted with the challenge of fighting the militant mindset which needed to be fought comprehensively with regional cooperation, steadfastness and by mounting a vigorous intellectual challenge to the militants’ narrative and interpretation of religion.

The former president said that border security issues between the two countries needed to be tackled through multi-layered institutional mechanisms available for the purpose.

Mr Wilayati reciprocated the sentiments about deeper Pak-Iran relations.

Later, Mr Zardari left for Dubai.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2014