TEHRAN (ECOIDEAL)- Iran’s Consul General in Quetta Mohammad Rafiyee announced that Tehran and Islamabad aim to increase the value of their bilateral trade from the current volume of $1.5 billion to $5 billion.
"The two sides aim to enhance their relations to a higher level," Rafiyee said while pointing to the cultural and religious commonalties between the two countries.
He underlined that the total volume of bilateral trade between Iran and Pakistan in the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2017-December 21, 2018) stood at $982 million, and said that the figure showed an increase of 49 percent.
Iran’s consul general in Quetta underlined that the two sides in their recent meetings have agreed to increase the value of their bilateral trade to $5 billion.
In relevant remarks earlier in January, a senior Iranian diplomat announced that Tehran and Islamabad had agreed to enhance cooperation in different fields, specially in economic areas.
Iranian Ambassador to Islamabad Mehdi Honardoust said that during his meeting with Pakistan’s Minister of State for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan in the Pakistani capital the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to broaden bilateral ties in various fields, including the trade and economic areas.
The Iranian ambassador, meantime, said that resumption of banking ties between Iran and Pakistan is very important to enhance trade cooperation between the two brotherly and friendly states.
“We have already signed an agreement in this regards so it should be implemented as early as possible,” he said.
“Our common enemies are working against us,” he pointed out adding that the overall trend of strengthening relations was positive.
Pakistan's minister of state for finance, for his part, said that Iran-Pakistan relations have historical perspective and the two countries share common traditions.
He assured the Iranian ambassador that he will take appropriate steps for the resumption of banking ties between the two countries.
“I will be very intimately working on this to solve this problem; I will hold meetings with the top officials of the State Bank and National Bank of Pakistan to solve the matter, I will do my best,” Afzal Khan said.
Expressing his views, Afzal Khan said banks are in private sector so we have to persuade them to do it, adding, "We have to take some banks on board and for them it is a good business."
He reiterated that Pakistan wants to have strong relations with Iran in all areas, and said, “We are brothers. We have to solve the problems we have to find the way, we don’t want to delay this mater."
Source: Farsnews