Pakistan the Blind Spot in Iran Foreign Trade
IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK
A member of board of directors of Pakistan-Iran Joint Chamber of Commerce pointed to the negligence towards trade capacities of both countries, saying that Iran and Pakistan’s trade is very limited and it is conducted in form of barter and peddling via border markets or smuggling.
Mahmoud Tohidast said that Iranian policymakers should believe this point that the future of the country today lies in Sistan and Baluchestan and shores of Chahbahar and Makran, adding that if the country wants to improve the economic condition, it should exert all of its sources on this area.
He added that China’s velocity of progress in those areas is in a way that Iranians have to work round-the-clock.
On the bilateral trade between Iran and Pakistan in the current year, he said if he wants to compare it with the year before, he can see no major change because there is no banking relation between both states and still trade between both countries is conducted via border markets, bartering, peddling or smuggling and as far as the condition does not change, one should not expect any major change.
Tohidast went on to say that Pakistan is a poor country and most of its expenses are provided by the U.S. and it is natural their policies to follow the U.S. He noted that anyway, Pakistanis consider their own priorities and currently their relations with the U.S. are priority rather than trade with their neighbors.
He also said that Pakistan needs all of goods which are produced in Iran, and instead Iran can provide some of its necessary essential goods like rice and meet from Pakistan.
Tohidast stated that both countries are good options for bilateral trade but political games have blocked the trade and at the same time, Iran’s transit route to the CIS countries and Russia is very crucial for Pakistan.
On the competition between Gwadar and Chahbahar Ports, he said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, markets of the CIS countries became major targets for big economic guns, and major transit routes to those countries became active and Gwadar Port of Pakistan and Chahbahar Port of Iran were the major routes but Iran due to its passiveness lost the competition to Pakistanis as Gwadar Port was officially inaugurated last week with capacity several times more than Chahbahar Port’s.
He further said Chahbahar Port needs investment especially in the rail routes otherwise the port will lag behind in competition with Gwadar.
