Pakistan and Iran have agreed to set an target of $ 8 billion in annual bilateral trade, aimed at improving economic cooperation and regional connectivity.
Development occurred during a meeting between the Federal Minister for Trade in Pakistan, Jam Kamal Khan, and the Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Commerce, Mohammad Atabak, in Islamabad.
The two parties agreed to give a new direction to the bilateral trade and to accelerate the pace of cooperation.
Kamal said it was time to accelerate business links with Iran and transform geographic proximity into an economic advantage.
The ministers also stressed the importance of improving cross-border cooperation and agreed to accelerate the next session of the Pakistani-Iranian joint economic commission.
The two parties hosted growing confidence between the Pakistani and Iranian commercial communities and launched a new series of B2B meetings to continue collaboration.
The ministers discussed cooperation in agriculture, energy, breeding, logistics and IT services, and highlighted the need to better use border facilities and commercial corridors.
Kamal described Pakistani-Iranian friendship as a symbol of trade, culture and brotherhood, adding that economic cooperation is essential to strengthen fraternal relations.
Atabak noted that close ties between the two countries could bring stability to the region.
Yesterday, the Iranian president, Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, arrived in Pakistan during a two -day state visit to hold bilateral talks with the Pakistani leaders.
Read: The red carpet was deployed for the Iranian president
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Muhammad Ishaq Dar and the Minister of Information and Dissemination of Attaullah Tarar received the Iranian President and his delegation at the Nur Khan air base.
Dr. Pezeshkian is accompanied by a high -level delegation, notably the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi, Higher Ministers and other senior officials.
Dr. Pezeshkian will meet President Asif Ali Zardari and will also hold talks at the delegation with the Pakistani Prime Minister and his ministers.
Defense Ministers
The honorable Minister of Defense of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Brig, Aziz Nasir-Zadeh, held a bilateral meeting with the Honorable Minister of Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif in Islamabad.
During the meeting, the two parties discussed questions of mutual interest, in particular regional security, efforts to combat terrorism and the ways to improve defense cooperation between the two neighboring countries.
Find out more: Government measures help to slow down smuggling
Earlier, Pakistan had taken a multitude of strict measures to control the smuggling of basic products, including the oil supply of Iran, which resulted in an increase of 340% in legal trade.
Although the government has entered into action to limit the smuggling of Iranian oil, the national petroleum industry says that illegal trade has started to increase, provoking concerns among market players.
