ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s commerce minister Syed Naveed Qamar said on Thursday a border market on his country’s frontier with Iran was expected to be inaugurated in the coming month while hoping it would further strengthen trade relations between the two neighboring states.
The minister issued the statement while holding a meeting with an Iranian parliamentary delegation at his office in Islamabad.
He added that a total of 12 border markets had been proposed by the two countries to increase the volume of bilateral trade, out of which nine had been mutually approved.
Qamar informed trade would take place in these border markets under the barter system.
“Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar on Thursday said that the opening of Pakistan-Iran ‘Pishin Border Market’ is expected in the coming month, which will increase the trend of free trade between the two countries,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
The minister maintained there was dire need to increase the trade volume in petroleum and gas, which would also augment mutual trade volume between the two countries.
“We are importing Liquified Petroleum Gas from Iran and its import also needs to be increased,” he said. “There is also a need to increase its production in Pakistan.”
Qamar also said Pakistan should step up its import of electricity from Iran to meet growing demand in Gwadar.
The head of the Iranian delegation, Malek Fazeli, said Pakistan and Iran shared 920-kilometer-long border which helped bilateral trade and movement of people throughout the year.
He said that as a member of the Iranian parliament, he considered cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy essential, adding that work on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline should also be completed in soon.
Fazeli maintained his country was willing to fully cooperate with Pakistan to ensure the rehabilitation of flood-affected families in Sindh and Balochistan provinces.
