ISLAMABAD, April 18: Pakistan’s foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said on Friday that the United Nations should have a leading role in shaping the future of Iraq and restoring peace there.

Before embarking on a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia along with the foreign secretary Riaz Khokhar on Friday morning, Mr Kasuri said his visit was part of the ongoing consultations between the two brotherly countries on the rapidly evolving situation in Iraq.

He said during talks with his counterpart Prince Saud Al-Faisal there would be an exchange of views and detailed discussion on important bilateral and regional issues, including the volatile situation in the Middle East.