Tehran, Islamabad agree to remove trade barriers

EghtesadOnline: The trade organizations of the two countries are fully ready to implement this decision – remove trade barriers – and Pakistan’s Comm­erce Minister Jam Kamal Khan is scheduled to visit Tehran in the next two months to reach an agreement on the finalization of the free trade list between Tehran and Islamabad, Atabak said on Friday.

When free- and preferential trade agreement is established between two countries, some tariffs would be reduced, he said.

“Of course, we must agree on the tariffs before that. We have reached an agreement on some of them, and the rest have not yet been agreed upon,” he added, expressing hopes the two neighboring countries reach an agreement on the rest of the tariffs.

Atabak and Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Commerce, Jam Mir Kamal Khan Alyani, discussed trade ties between their countries on Wednesday, agreeing that those relations should be further promoted.

The two ministers met in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on the sidelines of the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

According to Pakistani media, they held a productive meeting committed to facilitating smoother business interactions between the two countries. During the meeting, the Iranian minister invited his Pakistani counterpart to visit Iran, an official announcement said on Wednesday.

They emphasized the need to boost economic ties through increased bilateral trade and investment. They also explored avenues for collaboration in sectors of mutual interest.

It was pointed out that there is enormous potential for bilateral trade, which is yet to be realized.

They discussed the potential for Pakistan and Iran to cooperate more closely in the regi­onal market and beyond, leveraging the SCO platform to facilitate trade growth and regional stability. / Mehr