Pakistan and Iran have agreed to expeditiously finalize the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a joint statement said on Wednesday as Iranian President Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi concluded his three-day official visit to Pakistan.
According to the joint statement, with a view to further strengthening bilateral economic cooperation, both sides agreed to expeditiously finalize the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and hold the next sessions of Annual Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) and Joint Business Trade Committee (JBTC) as well as the 22nd round of the negotiations of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in the near future.
The statement said that the two countries also agreed to facilitate regular exchange of economic and technical experts, as well as delegations from Chambers of Commerce from both countries to intensify economic cooperation. The declaration of ‘Reemdan border point’ as an international border crossing point under TIR and opening of the remaining two border sustenance markets was also agreed.
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h sides agreed to enhance mutual interaction through regular exchange of high-level visits to strengthen fraternal relations, the statement added.
Further, the two sides agreed to further expand trade and economic cooperation and affirmed their commitment to transform their common border from ‘border of peace’ to a ‘border of prosperity’ through joint development-oriented economic projects, including setting up of joint border markets, economic free zones, and new border openings.
They also reiterated the importance of cooperation in the energy domain, including trade in electricity, power transmission lines and IP Gas Pipeline Project. The two leaders agreed to boost their bilateral trade to $10 billion over the next five years.
Both sides underscored the imperative of a long-term durable economic partnership and collaborative regional economic and connectivity model, particularly for socio-economic development in Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan Province and Pakistan’s Balochistan Province, the statement added.
The joint statement said that there was consensus to fully operationalize barter trade mechanisms between the two sides to facilitate economic and commercial activity, particularly under ongoing collaborative endeavours, such as border sustenance markets, which would contribute towards improvement of the economic situation of local residents, and further constitute a step towards enhancing border security.
Pakistan and Iran stressed the importance of harnessing their respective geographic locations for promoting connectivity between the two countries as well as with the broader region. The two sides noted with satisfaction the progress made in the regular shipment of goods under the TIR Convention and agreed to fully operationalize the Convention to further promote efficient, speedy and barrier-free trade between Pakistan and Iran. It was agreed that full operationalization of the TIR Convention would also enhance regional integration and connectivity across the wider ECO region, the statement said.
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d that as members of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the two countries expressed firm resolve to enhancing cooperation in connectivity, infrastructure development and energy sectors. The two countries also agreed to expand mutually beneficial and enduring linkages between the sister ports of Gwadar and Chahbahar.
It is pertinent to mention here that, at the invitation of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Iranian President paid an official visit to Pakistan from 22-24 April 2024. The president o was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising the Foreign Minister of Iran as well as other members of the cabinet and senior officials.
Source: Pro Pakistani