ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan on Tuesday highlighted several initiatives to enhance bilateral trade with Iran such as removing impediments in customs, tariffs and removing banking hurdles, the commerce ministry said in a statement.
Khan arrived in Tehran on a three-day visit to the country on Sunday. The Pakistani minister is attending the 22nd meeting of the Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC), amid efforts by both countries to forge closer economic, trade and investment relations through border markets and trade links.
Pakistan and Iran, which have remained at odds over instability along their shared border, plan to increase their bilateral trade to $10 billion from the existing figure of around $3 billion. Speaking at the Pak-Iran Business Forum 2025 to business leaders, officials and diplomats from both countries, Khan said the two countries’ bilateral economic partnership should be as deep as their religious, cultural and historical bonds.
“The minister outlined a series of ongoing and planned initiatives to transform bilateral trade, including: seventeen new protocols under negotiation covering banking facilitation, logistics, shipping, aviation, free zones, high-end manufacturing, agriculture, and investment promotion,” the ministry said.
The minister also spoke of the need to operationalize border markets and special economic zones to boost livelihoods in border areas. He called for enhanced foreign direct investment in Pakistan’s energy, minerals, agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
Khan highlighted the need for close technical coordination between the teams of both countries to resolve “long-standing impediments in customs, tariffs, and regulatory processes.”
“Our industrial sector is improving, services and IT are rising, and foreign investment is looking to Pakistan,” Khan noted.
The minister invited Iranian companies to participate in Pakistan’s upcoming Agriculture Expo in November 2025, calling it “a gateway to explore manufacturing hubs, meet counterparts and discover new markets.”
Farzaneh Sadegh, Iran’s minister for road and urban development, said she was confident that under the vision of both leaderships, Pakistan and Iran are moving steadily toward the $10 billion trade target. She highlighted Iran’s keen interest in joint investment projects in pharmaceuticals, engineered goods, ceramics and other high-value sectors.
“Ms. Sadegh underscored that Iran views the Pakistan–Iran Business Forum as a practical platform for accelerating cooperation and generating concrete outcomes for both nations,” the commerce ministry said.
Pakistan and Iran have renewed their push to enhance bilateral trade in recent months. The two countries exchanged 12 agreements, memoranda of understanding for bilateral cooperation in diverse fields during Iranian President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Pakistan last month.
