Iran officials defend Rouhani's Pakistan trip
After criticism suggesting that President Hassan Rouhani’s trip to Pakistan did not achieve anything, officials from the administration and media linked to the administration have fired back.
President Hassan Rouhani’s first foreign trip of the Iranian New Year was a two-day trip to Pakistan, which began March 25. While he was accompanied by a half-dozen ministers and high-ranking officials, there has been recent criticism that the trip ended without significant tangible achievements, prompting officials from the administration to answer back.
A March 29 article from the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), which operates under the administration, accused domestic media of parroting foreign media in their critiques of Rouhani’s trip. The article asserts that on the first day of the visit, Iran and Pakistan signed six documents of cooperation, including cooperation between chambers of commerce and also in the fields of universities, culture, insurance and health. According to the IRNA article, there were also discussions of strengthening trade on the border markets and between the Chabahar and Gwadar ports.
