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Foreign Affairs minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is expected to visit Iran on Tuesday (today) for talks on a variety of issues, including electricity supplies from the neighbouring country amid the country"s chronic energy crisis.

Bilawal will be visiting Tehran for the first time as foreign minister. He is visiting at the invite of Iran"s Foreign Minister, Dr. Amir Abdollahian.

The foreign minister will hold a thorough exchange of ideas with his Iranian counterpart on all matters of common interest during the visit, according to an official handout released by the Foreign Office on the eve of the meeting.

During his visit to Tehran, he will also meet with the Iranian leader and other dignitaries. The foreign minister will visit Mashhad on Wednesday (tomorrow), according to the Foreign Office announcement.

During the delegation-level meetings, the two sides will discuss all aspects of bilateral relations, including trade and commercial linkages, Iranian electricity supply, border sustaining markets, road and rail connectivity, and Zaireen facilitation.

Iran presently supplies electricity to Gwadar, and Pakistan is eager to expand that relationship. The country is currently experiencing energy shortages, resulting in lengthy power outages.

However, there was no mentions of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, which was signed between 2008 and 2013 under the tenure of the Pakistan People"s Party (PPP). Iran has finished work on its side of the border, but Pakistan was unable to proceed due to US economic sanctions.

Even the Govt, which otherwise talked about having an independent foreign policy, did not pursue the pipeline project, which, if completed, would considerably assist address Pakistan"s gas shortfall.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bilawal will assess regional security, with a special emphasis on development in Afghanistan and South Asia, as well as countering Islamophobia.

Bilawal"s travel to Iran is part of the two nations" regular high-level exchanges. The two foreign ministers last met on the sideline of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on May 26.

"Pakistan and Iran have close cooperative ties that are founded on similar geography, cultural commonalities, and ancient people-to-people ties." These familial ties have been fostered further by frequent high-level exchanges. The two countries will commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2022," according to the statement.

Despite the official statement"s optimistic description of relationships, connections between Pakistan and Iran have experienced numerous hurdles. Maintaining a delicate balancing act in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia is a huge problem. However, with Iran and Saudi Arabia attempting to patch wounds, Pakistan"s dilemma may become less complicated.