TEHRAN (Iran News) – Pakistan Ambassador to Tehran Rahim Hayat Qureshi in meeting with Iranian lawmaker Fadahossein Maleki called for the establishment of a joint special industrial and trade zone by Iran and Pakistan.

In the meeting, Mr. Qureshi pointed to the significant role of parliaments in boosting mutual relations and said the parliamentary relation does always have an important role in reinforcing bilateral cooperation, and taking advantage of this capacity is necessary for enhancing the bilateral relations in the other fields.

He expressed hope that with the progress of the relation in political and parliamentary fields, both countries would witness improvement in their economic relations.

He then pointed to holding the joint economic commission of the two states, saying that in the economic sphere, Pakistan strives to define the priorities for cooperation and investment in the Chabahar Free Zone by the exchange of information and cooperation of private sectors of both countries.

Qureshi also expressed his satisfaction with the existing capacity of the Chabahar project, saying that by easing solutions regarding the arrival of Pakistani tradesmen, abundant economic opportunities will be provided for Pakistan and Iranians as well as the Central Asian countries.

He then called for launching a joint special industrial and trade zone between Iran and Pakistan, adding that next month, he will visit the Mirjaveh border area and he will check issues related to Pakistan in this area.

The Pakistani diplomat also pointed to the efforts of his country for continuing cooperation and called for improving the bilateral cooperation in economic, trade, medical, scientific, and technology fields as well as the exchange of students.

He concluded his words by emphasizing the role of border markets of both countries for securing peace and trade.

Meanwhile representative of Zahedan constituency to Majlis Mr. Maleki, for his part, expressed his gratitude for the inauguration of Rimdan border market, saying that he expects the next step to be the inauguration of the Pishin-Mand market.

He then pointed to the historical, cultural, and trade commonalities between the two nations and the existing economic capacities of the two countries and stipulated that Iran and Pakistan have high capabilities for boosting cooperation in different fields like rail lines, launching the border markets, imports and exports of agro products, exchange of scientific and technical information and energy, and expressed hope due to this historical and cultural closeness, both countries would witness better and deep cooperation under the high political levels like Iran’s Majlis cooperation.

Maleki also pointed to the positive approach of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during his recent visit to Tehran for signing MoU for cooperation and termed this decision as to the sign of the determination of the Pakistan government.

He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the low trade balance between the two countries and called for using all economic and trade levers as well as the operationalization of the signed agreements during the recent meeting of the joint economic commission.

Maleki also said the cooperation between Iran and Pakistan in the implementation of Chabahar Port is an exceptional opportunity for both countries and the regional states for improving the economic relations and emphasized that due to the abundant economic and economic capacities of Chabahar Port, the amount of joint investment in the region should enhance.

Then he pointed to the Kuhak region (a village in Bam Pasht District, Saravan County, Sistan, and Baluchestan Province of Iran) and said since Iran recognizes it, it is expected the Pakistan government to recognize it officially, too.

Maleki then thanked Pakistan government over the release of two abducted Iranian border guards and called for boosting political and parliamentary ties.