ISLAMABAD: United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that he will be “visiting Pakistan soon,” terming Islamabad an “important” mediator in the conflict between the United States and Iran.
While meeting Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on the sidelines of the SCO Heads of State Summit in Bishkek earlier this month, the UN chief appreciated Pakistan's constructive and principled role in multilateral diplomacy and commended its contributions to promoting regional peace and security.
During the meeting, FM Dar extended an invitation to the secretary-general to visit Pakistan, which he accepted.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday ahead of UN General Assembly's High-Level Week meeting, the UN chief said that the “complex set of problems” in the Middle East conflict required serious dialogue “between the US and Iran, between Iran and the countries of the Gulf including the mediators.”
He said that the two important mediators for the conflict were Pakistan and Turkiye, and added, “I'll be visiting Pakistan by the way soon.”
He also listed Egypt and Saudi Arabia as mediators “even if Saudi Arabia is at the present moment becoming one of the victims of this conflict.”
“I think that there is no solution for the crisis without dialogue,” he said, stating that it was “absolutely essential” that dialogue was established.
He said that the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was a step in the right direction, however, “then all of a sudden everything got put in question again and then the situation has been enlarged.”