Iranian foreign minister on two day visit to Pakistan

Pakistan and Iran agree on a five-year plan on Thursday to achieve US$5 billion bilateral trade. The two countries in late 2021 decided to take measures to expand annual bilateral trade to US$5 billion by 2023.

The new plan has been devised while Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian is on a two-day visit to Pakistan; he reached Islamabad on Wednesday on the invitation of Pakistani at foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

Addressing a press conference alongside him in Islamabad on Thursday, Bilawal said the five-year trade cooperation plan was aimed at removing impediments in bilateral trade, finalizing a free trade agreement and establishing institutional linkages between the private sectors of both countries.

“I am confident that the steps we are taking today will chart the course for a long-term durable economic partnership between our two countries in the months and years ahead,” he said.

Abdollahian said both countries were committed to increasing the bilateral trade to US$5 billion and had agreed to set up a special economic free trade region along the common border points.

A press conference was held after the two foreign ministers led delegation-level talks at the Foreign Office in Islamabad earlier today.

Bilawal told the media that the two sides had agreed to priorities the operationalization of the five remaining border markets by the end of year 2023.

The foreign minister said both sides had also agreed to continue their active engagement on Afghanistan with the view to advance peace and stability there and promote the wellbeing and prosperity of Afghan

Speaking after him, Abdollahian emphasized the need for enhanced bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, trade and tourism.

The Iranian foreign minister also emphasized the completion of the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline, saying that the project would definitely serve the national interests of the two countries.

He called for supporting the people of Afghanistan, highlighting that any situation in Afghanistan would have an impact in the neighboring countries, Pakistan and Iran.

Later, the two foreign ministers saw the signing of memoranda of understanding between Pakistan and Iran in various fields.

Abdollahian’s arrival was preceded by the arrival of a high-ranking delegation, including Iran’s deputy foreign minister for economic affairs and senior officials from the Ministries of Trade, Roads and Urban Development, Investment, Agriculture and Energy for preparatory meetings.