Zurich, June 22:
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday said he hoped for “very productive results” with regard to the discussions on the technical aspects of the US-Iran peace agreement that kicked off in the Swiss mountain resort of Burgenstock on Sunday.
The quadrilateral talks – being termed as the Lake Lucerne Summit – was also attended by top leaders of Qatar.
While the US and Iran are the two main sides in the negotiations, Pakistan and Qatar are mediators.
Earlier in the day, Sharif met negotiators from both the US and Iran separately on the sidelines of the talks.
While Vice President J D Vance led the American side, the Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Photographs posted on X by Sharif’s office showed him shaking hands with them in separate meetings.
Before the quadrilateral talks kickstarted in the evening, Sharif addressed the press in the presence of Vance and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
He praised US President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders. He also praised Pakistan’s Army chief Asim Munir, who accompanied him to Switzerland, and could be seen along with him during the meetings with the delegations representing Washington and Tehran.
“I think here we are going to have wonderful discussions which will lead to, hopefully, very productive results in times to come,” Sharif said.
He further said, “Hopefully when we go back to our homes, we’ll have some wonderful paper in our hand which will promote peace, progress and prosperity around the globe.”
The discussions taking place in Switzerland are focused on implementing key provisions of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last week by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, with Sharif signing as a guarantor.
The MoU marked the beginning of a 60-day negotiation window to restore peace in West Asia with focus on key areas that include Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions imposed on it and Israel’s offensive in Lebanon.