Hassan Rouhani
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that he has held proper talks for strengthening of ties with Pakistan and Turkey during his recent visit to Islamabad.

Saying that the member states of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) are determined to expand relations, President Rouhani added that he discussed broadening ties with Pakistani and Turkish leaders during his recent visit to Islamabad to attend the ECO summit, Mehr news agency reported.

The ECO held its 13th plenary session in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on March 1.

Mentioning that wide opportunities exist for expansion of ties between Iran and the members of the ECO, the Present further called on for cooperation in fight against terrorism.

Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have discussed protecting the territorial integrity of Syria at a meeting on the sidelines of ECO Summit .

The Iranian president reaffirmed Tehran's support for dialogue and mutual respect to settle differences, adding that the two countries "should make efforts to immediately put an end to war, bloodshed and foreign interference in the region."

Rouhani described Iran and Turkey as two instrumental countries of the region and called for further Tehran-Ankara cooperation in all sectors, which he said would benefit the two states as well as regional peace and stability.

During the meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Rouhani stated that Iran is ready to fulfill the energy needs of Pakistan, including Islamabad's growing demand for electricity.

He also called for more cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries with a view to boosting bilateral trade to $5 billion.

The Iranian president said that Tehran and Islamabad needed to work together to ensure security for the two countries' border regions against any potential terror acts.

Pakistan, which suffers from energy shortages, was expected to import 22 million cubic meters of gas per day from Iran starting in 2015 but it has been postponed as Pakistan has failed to build the part of the pipeline that goes through its territory.

The ECO is an alliance of ten countries - Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

The purpose of the structure is to discuss ways to improve development and promote trade and investment opportunities in the region.