Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said all political and economic capacities should be used to accelerate the growth of Tehran-Islamabad ties, in line with the two countries' interests.
Sharif made the statement in a meeting with the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani in Islamabad on Thursday, IRNA reported.
Shamkhani arrived in Islamabad for an official two-day visit on Wednesday.
Describing the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline and energy cooperation as "top priorities", Sharif expressed Pakistan's readiness to develop economic relations.
Pointing to the new atmosphere created by the nuclear deal reached by Iran and world major powers in Vienna last July, the Pakistani premier said Iran is able to play a substantial role in regional and international equations that helps create new avenues of cooperation.
"The growth of terrorism has made it a global threat. The Pakistani government is committed to fight the scourge, but believes that international moves are needed to deal with it effectively," Sharif said.
Shamkhani noted that the wide spectrum of shared political, security and economic interests such as Afghanistan's peace talks, confronting terrorism and extremism, security of borders and expansion of seaports in the Sea of Oman and Indian Ocean has contributed to a solid ground for mutual cooperation.
In bid to eliminate causes of insecurity in the region, Shamkhani said that unlike western countries, which seek to use terrorism as a tool to maintain their colonial domination, Iran uses all its capacity to address the underlying causes of terrorism and root out terrorists, incurring high costs for it.
The head of SNSC further said attempts to undermine border security devastates economic opportunities, stressing the need for increasing efforts against foreign-backed terrorist groups on the borders whose activities cause unwanted misunderstanding between the two countries.
Praising Pakistan's realistic approach in deciding not to enter the crisis in Yemen, Shamkhani said that some regional states have used military power to impose their will on neighbors, which resulted in regional instability and damaged the prospect of peaceful coexistence.
In a separate meeting with Sartaj Aziz, the adviser on foreign policy to the prime minister, on Wednesday, Shamkhani stressed the need to address poverty, lack of development and suppression of young people, which encourage some to join groups such as IS and other terrorist groups.
Aziz said the role of Iran and Pakistan in settling regional crises is vital, adding that to confront threats posed by terrorism, extremism and border insecurities, the framework of cooperation should be redefined.
In his last meeting, Shamkhani met Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday evening.
Shamkhani pointed to the recent security agreement signed by the two countries, saying that the implementation of the agreement and continuing consultations between the two countries' security officials is crucial to ensure border security.
Holding regular meetings of the joint working group on borders, conducting training courses and joint exercises for border guards and modernizing the online communications infrastructure are necessary for increasing coordination between the two countries' security forces.
Khan stressed the strong desire of his government to deal with the roots of insecurity in Pakistan, adding that intelligence cooperation among Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan against bandits, drug smugglers and terrorists is of high importance.
