ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran have agreed to enhance bilateral trade to $5 billion under a five-year Strategic Trade Cooperation Plan, besides establishing new border markets.
Addressing a joint news conference after the one-on-one and delegation-level meetings, President Rouhani said the two sides discussed the whole range of bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Rouhani said the issues of mutual interest, economic sector and potentialities that exist for the development of economic relations, including energy, gas and electricity exports, were discussed during the meeting with the Pakistani premier.
The two countries also held talks for the expansion of trade cooperation in the light of the facilitation of regulations like preferential trade tariffs by paving the ground for free trade between the two countries, he added.
Establishing new border markets and forging closer relations between the two important Iranian and Pakistani ports of Chabahar and Gwadar were also discussed during the meeting, Rouhani added.
The Iranian president said during the talks, the two countries took stock of the existing state of relations and how to enhance economic interaction. He said they discussed issues relating to energy, gas and electricity export.
Speaking at the news conference, Sharif said regional and mutual ties were discussed during talks with Rouhani, adding they expressed the resolve to develop ties in various fields and signed several memorandums of understanding in many sectors.
Immediately after the one-on-one meeting between Rouhani and Sharif, high-ranking Iranian and Pakistani delegations started talks. At the end of the round of the talks, the two sides signed six documents for cooperation in different fields of trade and commerce, insurance, culture, academy, health and medicine.
Prime Minister Sharif said the two countries had decided to open two new border crossing points between both the countries to encourage trade and economic activities and facilitate people-to-people contacts. He hoped the additional crossing points would greatly reduce the travel time and boost economic integration of the region.
Sharif said the two countries signed several memorandums of understanding in diverse fields, which would further enhance bilateral cooperation, including economic and social sectors. The prime minister expressed the confidence that Pakistan-Iran relations would continue to grow from strength to strength and ties would touch new levels.
Prime Minister Sharif was assisted in talks by Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Water and Power Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir, Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid and Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi.
