Iran and Pakistan agreed on Monday to enhance the bilateral trade volume to $10 billion in the next five years, as Ebrahim Raisi commenced a three-day visit to the country amid tight security in Islamabad.
“Both sides agreed to increase the volume of bilateral trade to 10 billion US dollars in the next five years,” PM Sharif’s office said in a statement after a joint news briefing.
The visit comes as the two Muslim neighbours seek to mend ties after unprecedented tit-for-tat military strikes this year.
“They also agreed to cooperate in developing joint approaches to confront common challenges including the threat of terrorism,” the statement said.
At the joint press conference, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed the need for boosting trade with Pakistan and said that the current level of trade volume was below the existing potential.
“We are committed to strengthening relations at high levels. […] Economic and trade volume between Iran and Pakistan is not acceptable at all. We have decided as a first step to increase the trade volume between our two countries to $10bn,” he said.
Official figures for current annual trade were not available. Business Recorder, citing Iran’s then-ambassador to Pakistan, last year reported bilateral trade worth over $2 billion.
Raisi, who was accompanied by a delegation that included the country’s foreign minister and cabinet members, will next visit Lahore and Karachi. Administrations of both cities have declared a local holiday on Tuesday (tomorrow) in view of the visit.
Major highways in Islamabad were blocked as part of security measures for Raisi’s arrival.
While Raisi’s visit is a key step towards normalising ties with Islamabad, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not the president, has the last say on state matters such as nuclear policy.
“They also agreed to cooperate in developing joint approaches to confront common challenges including the threat of terrorism,” the statement said.
