Iran, Pakistan Open 2nd Border Crossing for Trade Surge
IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK
TEHRAN – Pakistani Minister for Defense Production Zubaida Jalal and Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami (R) cut the ribbon during the inauguration of the Rimadan-Gabd border crossing, on Saturday.
Iran and Pakistan have inaugurated the second official border crossing for the transfer of goods and passengers.
The border point opened during a ceremony on Saturday, with Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami and the Pakistani Minister for Defense Production Zubaida Jalal attending the event.
The gateway connects Rimadan, located in Dashtyari country of Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province, with Pakistan’s Gabd.
The Rimadan border crossing has a capacity for exporting and importing goods and transporting Pakistani pilgrims and tourists.
The border’s 70-kilometer distance with Gwadar port also enables Pakistani citizens to reach Iran’s strategic Chabahar port, from where they can travel by plane or train to Iran’s religious cities and tourist sites.
The connection of the Rimadan border with Pakistan’s Karachi port would pave the way for linking China and Southeast Asian countries to Eastern Europe.
In an interview with IRNA news agency, Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Mohammad Ali Hosseini said there was only one crossing, Mirjaveh-Taftan, on the 900-kilometer border between the two neighboring states.
So, he added, Iranian and Pakistani officials decided to open two more border gateways, Rimadan-Gabd and Pishin-Mand.
The envoy also stressed that the inauguration of Rimdan-Gabd border point wouldl increase economic and trade cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad, reduce smuggling and improve the livelihood of border residents as well as the security situation along the common frontier.
The Iranian ambassador to Pakistan said: “Increasing the crossings and at the same time developing the border markets will basically secure the interests of the two countries, especially strengthen the security of the two countries in the common border strip.”
He said: “With the activity at the new border crossing and the strengthening of markets, we can see trade and economic prosperity between the two countries, especially the neighboring border provinces can benefit from this prosperity.”
Hosseini emphasized: “Our expectation is that a joint effort and cooperation will be done with appropriate speed, let the border crossings of the two countries increase and prosper, and let our border markets be strengthened and increased.
“This will help the development of these areas, which will have a direct impact on the living standards of the people and will create employment for the border residents of the two countries and a variety of job opportunities,” he said.
According to IRNA, the Rimdan border at the zero point of the Iran-Pakistan border is the best route for Iran to reach 37% of the world’s population (Pakistan, China and India); therefore, paying attention to the infrastructure of this border is necessary for the development of trade and economic relations.
