Pakistan, Iran agree to enhance bilateral trade up to $ 5bn

During the two-day of JEC discussion the two sides presented various proposals to enhance bilateral trade and industrial development. The both sides discussed joint ventures, lifting of visa and export, import restrictions, promotion of banking, communications, information technology, media development and agriculture development.The two sides also signed three MoUs including MoU on economic and technical cooperation, MoU for cooperation on electronic media an MoU on Pakistan-Iran investment company for the benefit of the people of the two brotherly countries.Federal Minister for Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Foreign Minister of Iran Dr. Ali Akbar Salehi also signed the minutes of 18th JEC while three other MoUs were inked by the concerned officials of the two countries.Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said that productive and meaningful discussions were made in the two-day JEC in which different working groups were formed in order to boost the bilateral trade and investment relationships.He informed that currently volume of trade between the two countries currently hovered $ 1.5 billion which would be raised upto $ 5 billion by mutual coordination.He said that a joint working group was also formed to develop infrastructure and other modalities to import 100 MW electricity for Gawadar port while 1000 MW for national grid to overcome the domestic power crisis.Dr. Shaikh said that the JEC also reviewed of tariff rationalization and developing a joint investment fund to promote bilateral trade and commerce. “The most important thing I want to stress here is that the two sides have expressed desire that the time has come to put aspirations of people of the two countries into reality”, the Finance Minister remarked.He said that in the meeting there had been agreement in principle to promote railway and road links between the two countries.Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Ali Akbar Salehi, speaking on the occasion said that Pakistan and Iran were two great nations that take their pride in the history.He said the two nations were passing through a transitional period and both the countries can play their role in this period through mutual cooperation.He said that the two countries have a vast market potential for growing as their population has reached to 250 million. “With having such a huge population we need not to go anywhere else for trade”, he added.He said that both the nations have bright future and he termed this visit as the turning point for the two nations.He further informed that Prime Minister of Pakistan is visiting Iran by next week which would further strengthened and promote bilateral trade relations.To a question, Salehi said that the work of Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline was continuing with full pace and on the Iranian side the work would be completed in six months.