Pak-Iran bilateral trade can be increased up to $5b: Iranian envoy

Source: The Nation

ISLAMABAD - Ambassador of Iran to Paki­stan Dr Reza Amiri Moghadam has said that due to strong economic and trade integra­tion between Pakistan and Iran, bilateral trade can be in­creased up to $5 billion a year in the coming few years.

There is a strong possibility of doubling the bilateral trade between the two countries through air, rail and maritime integration, which will prove to be a catalyst in regional and global trade as well, he said while addressing the business community in Islamabad.

The ambassador said that Pakistan and Iran were geo-strategically very important countries located at the junc­tion of Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia. Therefore, the land and sea integration of both countries is of great importance in the world of Geo- economy, said a press release issued, he said. The Iranian envoy said that in or­der to further improve transit trade between Pakistan and Iran, 12 border trade markets had been opened, in which 6 border markets had been completed and others are in progress, which would usher in a new era of economic inte­gration in both countries.

He said that Gwadar and Chabahar were very important in maritime trade ties, so both countries should declare both ports as coastal sister ports so that mutual economic develop­ment can be achieved jointly. Dr Reza Amiri Moghadam said that both countries were members of major forums like Shanghai Cooperation Organ­isation (SCO), ECO and D-8 in which it was very easy to work on common economic goals.

He said that both China Paki­stan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and BRI mega projects were extremely important for Paki­stan and Iran, which can stabi­lise the economic relations be­tween the two countries. The Iranian envoy said that the two mega projects were not only in the interest of both countries and bilateral cooperation is of utmost importance, which can bring prosperity to the region. He said that in the same way North, South and Corridor and East, West were also very im­portant in regional and global trade, which increases the pos­sibility of connecting the global supply chain of both countries.

He said that currently, the world was being economically connected through different Economic Corridors; therefore these corridors were impor­tant for the economy of both countries. The ambassador said that the transportation and logistics sector was very important for both countries, which was important in the cost of business, on which both sides need to work.

Dr Reza Amiri Moghadam said that the current volume of bilateral trade between the two countries was $2.5billion, which had been continuously increas­ing since last year, in which there was a potential of $5 bil­lion. The Iranian ambassador said that currently, Pakistan had a lot of trade potential in Iran in agriculture and industry and halal products, especially meat, which Iran was already import­ing from different countries.

He said that tourism, agricul­ture and trade were extremely important in Pakistan and Iran, especially in religious tour­ism, there is a lot of potential in both countries and the gov­ernment in Iran was providing ample facilities in this regard. The Iranian smbassador said, "Pakistan and Iran have huge opportunities for cooperation in the knowledge economy, and there is a lot of potential in both countries, especially in science and technology." He said de­spite of the international sanc­tions, Iran has made great prog­ress in the field of science and technology, in which full coop­eration with Pakistan can be increased. In order to increase mutual cooperation between the business communities of Pakistan and Iran, both sides should participate in industrial exhibitions like the trade and industrial exhibition being held in the city of Tehran in the com­ing April 2024, he expressed.

The business community from Pakistan, especially the Islamabad Chamber of Com­merce, should participate in the exhibition and increase mutual cooperation with the business community of Iran, he added. The envoy said that about 120 businessmen have completed their registration in the trade and industrial exhibition in Tehran, which is expected to in­crease in the coming days.