Iran ready to send more aid to Pakistan

Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said that the country is ready to provide more aid to the flood-hit Pakistani people due to the magnitude of the damage.

Mottaki made the comment in a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly in New York on Friday.

Qureshi, for his part, hailed Iran for sending relief supplies to Pakistan, beginning at the start of flooding in the country.

The Pakistani foreign minister said that his country is ready to hold the next meeting of the Iran-Pakistan Joint Economic Cooperation in Islamabad.

Qureshi also reiterated on Pakistan’s stance regarding Iran’s right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and said that Iran’s nuclear issue can be resolved only through dialog.

The death toll from Pakistan’s floods has risen to more than 1,600, with up to 20 million people affected by the floods.

Iran, which was among the first countries to send aid to Pakistan, has so far dispatched 140 tons of humanitarian aid to the flood-stricken country.

In continuation of his meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Mottaki also held separate talks with his counterparts from Syria, South Africa, and Mauritania.

They discussed regional and international developments, as well as means to further expand relations.

Mottaki also held talks with Lamberto Dini, the chairman of the Italian Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Both parties called for further cooperation between the two countries.

The Iranian top diplomat also updated the Italian official on the latest developments regarding Iran’s nuclear work.