Mohammad Reza Nazeri, made the remarks while presiding the first session of Pakistan-Iran business facilitation recently. The session was attended by the business community of Punjab from various sectors.
He said there is a need to further enhance B2B relations between Pakistan and Iran which in terms will uplift the socio-economic situation of the region.
He also said Iran is a beneficiary of CPEC and have always offered its support to Pakistan Government to enhance cooperation.
Pakistan can import cheap electricity and gas from Iran decreasing its cost of doing business. He invited the business community to explore the potential of transit trade to Central Asia and Russia. He offered all necessary support to establish joint Ventures, setup business and excess to free zones in Iran.
The meeting was attended by the Punjab Business Association, Pakistani importers and traders from the food, ceramic tile, building materials, processed agricultural products, LPG, medical and dental equipment sectors.
Chairman LCCI Committee on ECO, Aqib Asif suggested that Government of Pakistan should seriously consider the initiation of Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline to curtail the on-going gas crisis faced by the industry and resolve the situation for good.
He hailed the relations Pakistan enjoys with Iran and stated, the new government in Iran envisions to further strengthen relations with its neighbors and Pakistan should look into this for maximum benefits.
He thanked for initiating this forum and hoped further sessions of Pak-Iran business relations to be conducted to improve business to business engagement and address the concerns of business community working with Iran.
Chairman Pak-Iran Trade relations at FPCCI, Najam Jawa stressed the need to increase exports to Iran and added that both governments should take strict actions to control border smuggling. He said banking channels are vital to increase the trade volume between both countries.
The chambers of commerce in Pakistan have repeatedly raised the idea of using local currencies between Iran and Pakistan, saying that the lack of a banking system is the main obstacle to increase bilateral trade and increasing the difficulties of traders between the two countries in achieving mutual trade.
Earlier, rice exporters and traders in Pakistan, emphasizing the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a major market for Pakistani rice, stressed for strong banking system between the two countries or implemented a "special SVP mechanism" to strengthen trade, especially between Iran and Pakistan.
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