Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday conferred the honorary fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan (CPSP) in the field of cardiac surgery upon Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian during a ceremony held in Islamabad.

The fellowship was presented in recognition of President Pezeshkian’s distinguished services to medicine, particularly in the field of cardiac surgery.

Senior officials and dignitaries from both countries attended the ceremony.

President Pezeshkian, a qualified heart surgeon before entering politics, arrived in Islamabad earlier in the day on a one-day state visit at the invitation of PM Shehbaz.

President Asif Ali Zardari, PM Shehbaz, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar received the Iranian president at Nur Khan Airbase, where he was accorded a 21-gun salute and a flypast by Pakistan Air Force JF-17 jets.

Children dressed in traditional attire presented President Pezeshkian with bouquets and waved Pakistani and Iranian flags as he arrived, with the Iranian president waving back in acknowledgement of the welcome.

Pezeshkian subsequently proceeded to the Prime Minister’s House, where he was received by the prime minister and accorded a guard of honour by a smartly turned-out contingent of the armed forces.

A ceremony was also held at the PM House in the Iranian president’s honour, during which the two leaders exchanged warm remarks.