TEHRAN (Iran News) – The adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment of Pakistan Abdul Razak Dawood says his country seeks free trade, adding that this meeting will be the beginning for resolving problems in the trade between the two states.
Speaking in the 9th Iran-Pakistan Joint Trade Committee (JTC) in Tehran yesterday, Dawood said that Pakistan wants progress in trade ties with Iran in different trade sectors like transportation, barter trade, reducing tariffs and creating border markets on course to free trade.
He noted that in the past years the two countries have reached agreements but unfortunately they have not been materialized. He reiterated that the effective steps for developing trade between Iran and Pakistan is being taken from today, adding that there are huge capacities in Iran and Pakistan and the two countries can complete each other in trade exchanges but for developing countries they need more efforts.
Expressing his regret on not succeeding in ink and developing the Iran-Pakistan trade agreement in 2016, Dawood said: “We wanted to increase trade volume between the two countries to $ 5 billion, which unfortunately did not happen in 2016, but we highly hope this meeting will lead us to what we intend to reach in trade and interactions.”
Dawood highlighted the necessity to shore up the ties between the two countries beyond the trade of goods and develop cultural and economic relations.
“We want progress in all areas, including the free transport of goods and trucks and cleanliness between the two countries, including in border markets,” Davood said.
Meanwhile Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Reza Fatemi Amin has stated that Islamabad and Tehran are determined to expand annual trade exchanges to five billion dollars by 2023.
Speaking at the 9th meeting of Iran-Pakistan Joint Trade Committee, Fatemi Amin noted that Pakistani and Iranian officials have already held talks on different economic cooperation and the committee is tasked with pave the ground for enhancing trade ties between the two countries.
He further referred to determination for expansion of bilateral economic relations, stipulating that Iran is ready to remove obstacles in the way of developing trade exchanges with Pakistan in a bid to enhance economic ties with the neighboring country.
Emphasizing the need for accurate programming in a way that provides Pakistani partners with the opportunity to invest in Iran, the minister said that trade hurdles will be lifted within three months to pave the way for expansion of free trade.
The 9th meeting of Iran-Pakistan Joint Trade Committee pursues issues such as signing preferential contracts and free trade agreements between the two countries as well as organizing exhibitions. The meeting was attended by senior Iranian and Pakistani authorities as well as business and banking officials.
He went on to say that Tehran and Islamabad have planned for cooperating in the areas of home appliances and diary.
The cooperation could enhance while the two have also relations in trade and investment, Fatemi-Amin told reporters on Saturday at the end on ninth meeting of Iran-Pakistan joint trade committee .
Iran and Pakistan are two important countries in the region, said the minister adding that the two have not used properly their economic capacities yet.
The minister went on to say that trade obstacles to free trade between Tehran and Islamabad will be removed by the next three months.
As he stressed, the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, during the past few months, has underlined the importance of expansion of trade ties with all, with neighbors in particular.
Economies of Iran and Pakistan are interrelated, Fatemi-Amin noted.
Reportedly, the ninth meeting of Iran-Pakistan joint trade committee focused on reviewing the latest developments in bilateral economic cooperation.
Iran has about 959 joint border crossings with Pakistan in southeast of the country.
