Iran, Pakistan to initiate Silk Road tours
Iran and Pakistan are seeking to increase cross-border tourism by easing group visa procedures, expanding transport links and developing joint cultural and medical tourism programs, officials said at a meeting in Tehran.
Anoushirvan Mohseni Bandpey, Iran’s deputy tourism minister, met Pakistani Ambassador Imran Ahmed Siddiqui in Tehran discuss joint tours focused on the Silk Road and investment in tourism facilities along their shared border, IRNA reported on Monday.
The talks highlighted the potential of Khorasan Razavi and South Khorasan provinces in northeastern Iran, as well as Sistan and Baluchestan province in the southeast, to attract Pakistani visitors.
Other priorities included religious pilgrimages, medical tourism and programs for university professors, particularly scholars of Persian language and literature.
Eight scheduled flights currently operate each week from Tehran and Mashhad in northeastern Iran, to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan. Both sides called for more affordable and regular air, road, rail and sea connections.
Mehdi Shojaei, Iran’s director general for foreign tourism marketing and development, said a list of 26 qualified Iranian travel agencies had been submitted to the Foreign Ministry to help coordinate group visa applications.
Iran has also asked Pakistan to provide lists of approved tour operators and tourism influencers for joint promotional activities.
“Pakistanis were familiar with Iranian landmarks such as Persepolis and Pasargadae and the works of Persian poets Hafez and Saadi,” Siddiqui said.
He said awareness of Pakistan’s history and literature, particularly Urdu poetry, was more limited in Iran and called for greater cultural exchange and cooperation in television productions.
The Silk Road was a network of trade routes linking Asia and Europe, with Iran serving as a key crossroads between Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and western Asia.
Beyond commerce, it fostered cultural and intellectual exchange, offering Iran and Pakistan a shared historical legacy that could support joint tourism initiatives.