Iran’s First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri welcomed the visiting Pakistani premier upon his arrival in Tehran.
During his two-day tour of Iran, Sharif is expected to meet high-ranking Iranian officials to discuss Tehran-Islamabad bilateral relations as well as the latest regional and international developments.
Earlier in March, Iran’s Consul General in the Pakistani city of Lahore Mohammad Hossain Bani Asadi had announced that the fate of the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline will be determined during Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Iran.
He said Sharif is expected to discuss the issues pertaining to the completion of the multi-billion-dollar pipeline --projected to carry natural gas from Iran to Pakistan-- at a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
The IP pipeline is designed to help Pakistan overcome its growing energy needs at a time when the country of over 180 million people is grappling with serious energy shortages.
The final construction phase of the IP pipeline was inaugurated on March 11, 2013. Iran has already built 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil.
Pakistan, however, has fallen short of constructing the 700-kilometer part of the pipeline on its territory.