ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to export corn to neighboring Iran after the two countries finalize the arrangement in the coming weeks, according to an official statement released on Thursday after Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan’s meeting in Tehran with Iran’s agriculture minister Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh.

Pakistan and Iran, which have long been at odds over instability along their shared border, plan to expand bilateral trade to $10 billion from about $3 billion.

The two countries exchanged 12 agreements and memorandums of understanding during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s August visit to Pakistan to boost cooperation in commerce, culture, tourism, transportation and scientific and educational exchanges.

Khan and Nouri Ghezeljeh reviewed progress on those accords and focused on strengthening agricultural cooperation.

“During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to implement decisions taken by the Joint Committee on Agriculture Cooperation and agreed to facilitate imports of agricultural products,” the commerce ministry said in a statement circulated in Islamabad.

“The Iranian Ministry of Agriculture Jihad will dispatch a high-level delegation to Pakistan within the next two weeks to finalize arrangements for the export of Pakistani corn to Iran,” it added.

The statement said Khan thanked Iran for increasing imports of Pakistani rice and meat, while Iran expressed interest in joint studies with Pakistan’s Seed Councils on developing disease-resistant seed varieties to improve food security.

Both countries have, in recent years, discussed barter trade frameworks to get around banking and currency restrictions.

Sanctions and foreign exchange shortages remain key hurdles for Iran, making barter systems and cross-border markets central to its trade strategy with Pakistan.