After the recent visit of the Adviser to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Commerce and Investment to Iran and holding of 9th meeting of the Joint Trade Committee of the two countries, efforts to advance the barter trade mechanism between the two neighbors intensified.
Noting Iran's years of readiness to develop trade with its eastern neighbor through effective methods, especially barter, in which no currency is exchanged between the two countries, it is now reported that the Pakistani side is ready to finalize this mechanism.
Meanwhile, economic institutions, chambers of commerce and the private sector in Pakistan also demanded a practical step from the government to promote barter trade and at the same time called the State Bank of Pakistan to help expanding foreign trade, especially with neighbors.
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.
Pakistan is the fourth largest exporter of rice in the world. Rice is cultivated on 2.89 million hectares of land, which accounts for 10 percent of Pakistan's total agricultural land.
Strengthening the barter mechanism between Iran and Pakistan and Tehran’s readiness to meet the needs of the eastern neighbor for various goods, including fuel and petroleum products, is a new leap for the development of trade cooperation between the two countries.
**Iran offers Pakistan to trade in local currency
The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Pakistan, during a meeting with a group of businessmen and members of the Mandi Bahauddin Chamber in Punjab proposed to use of local currency in bilateral trade.
Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the use of national currency in Iran-Pakistan trade is being pursued and in this regards the Central Bank of Iran has submitted a draft to Pakistan.
He added in barter trade, only goods are exchanged with goods and no money is exchanged.
"At the same time, to facilitate trade, the use of local currency can be a new roadmap to support the two countries' traders and ensure the continuation of trade activities between the two neighbors,” he said.
He expressed readiness to import agricultural products from Pakistan, rice, livestock products, textile products, fertilizers and pesticides, as well as export high quality and cost-effective products from Iran to Pakistan, including citrus, nuts, saffron, herbal medicines, food products, ceramics.
The ambassador welcomed the proposal of the Bahauddin Chamber of Commerce to partner with Iranian companies in the field of industry, automotive and energy.
The Iranian ambassador to Pakistan called the reopening of two official borders and the agreement between the two countries to establish six joint border markets as a positive development.
He added transit of Pakistani goods from Iran to Turkey, Azerbaijan and Europe is underway and it will be a safe route for Pakistani businessmen.
It is worth mentioning that the emphasis and priority of the 13th government of Iran is expanding exports with neighboring countries.
Pakistan, as one of Iran's neighbors, with more than 900 km of land border, which is the longest border with Iran after Iraq, has not yet been fully explored by the Iranian businessmen.
Establishing good relations with Muslim and neighboring countries has always been one of the important policies of the Islamic Republic. This issue is on the agenda of Iranian embassy in Islamabad and Iranian political missions in four Pakistani provinces.
The two countries have many historical, cultural, social and religious commonalities and there is immense possibility of development of trade between Tehran and Islamabad.
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