TEHRAN, Feb 17: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Tuesday met Iranian President Syed Mohammad Khatami and discussed matters of mutual interests.

The meeting, held at the State Guest House here, comprised two rounds. In the first round the two leaders were assisted by their respective delegations while the second was one-to-one meeting, which lasted around 15 minutes.

The prime minister was assisted by Minister for Privatization and Investment Senator Dr Abdul Hafiz Shaikh, MNAs Dewan Jafar Hussain Bukhari and Rai Azizullah Khan besides Principal Secretary to the PM Shuja Shah and D-8 Commissioner and Additional Secretary Foreign Affairs Tariq Usman Haider and Ambassador Iqbal Ahmed Khan.

The meeting covered a wide range of matters especially in the light of emerging situation in the international scenario. The gas pipeline project between Iran and India through Pakistan was also discussed.

President Khatami said that First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref would soon be visiting Pakistan to further discuss this project. Mr Khatami thanked the government and the people of Pakistan for extending cooperation and assistance in rehabilitation of the people of Bam which was recently hit by a devastating earthquake.

He thanked Pakistan for sending contingents of Pakistan Army Medical and Engineering Corps to help mitigate problems of the quake affected people. The two leaders agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations and promote their economic and trade ties.

The prime minister apprised Mr Khatami about Pakistan's efforts for the promotion of a lasting peace in the region. Mr Khatami appreciated the steps taken by Pakistan and India to resolve their bilateral disputes including the core issue of Kashmir. He expressed the hope that their efforts would help achieve a lasting peace in the region.

Mr Jamali gave details about their efforts for rebuilding of Afghanistan. Both the leaders highlighted the need for restoration of peace in Afghanistan. The two leaders also reviewed the progress achieved on agreements for promoting bilateral trade and economic activity, reached during Mr Khatami's visit to Pakistan in October last year.

He asked Prime Minister Jamali to convey his best wishes to President General Pervez Musharraf. Earlier, talking to newsmen at the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport in Karachi before leaving for Tehran, the prime minister said that Pakistan's emphasis would be on evolving strategies for economic development of the developing countries, Our Reporter adds.

Mr Jamali said he had spoken to the Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the Pakistan-Turkmenistan-India and Iran- Pakistan-India gas pipelines projects. The matter was also taken up in Islamabad during bilateral meeting with President Musharraf, he said. -APP