A 19-member Pakistani trade delegation of major exporters in textile, leather, rice and agro products, tents and canvas, surgical instruments and gems and jewellery led by S. M. Muneer, Chief Executive of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) have concluded a visit to Iran aimed at enhancing business ties with Iran, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
According to a statement issued by the TDAP on Thursday a meeting was held between Muneer accompanied by Nazar Muhammad Ranjha, commercial counselor of Pakistan in Tehran and members of delegation, and Mehdi Jahangiri, vice president of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture and his team on August 23 at the TCCIMA headquarters.
Putting the present volume of Iran-Pakistan trade at $830 million per year, Jahangiri said there is room for the two sides to significantly increase the figure.
In a recent visit to Pakistan, President Hassan Rouhani and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif agreed to set the target of increasing bilateral trade to $5 billion by 2021.
“Our cooperation in power and electricity can play an important role”, Jahangiri remarked.
He noted that Pakistan can export rice, mangoes and kinnos to Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration’s latest statistics on two-way commercial exchanges pertains to the first four months of the current Iranian year (March 20-July 21). According to IRICA, Iran exported 646,400 tons of non-oil goods worth $256.4 million to Pakistan during the period, which indicates a 30% increase in value compared to last year’s corresponding period.
Meanwhile, more than 166,700 tons of goods valued at $160.4 million were imported, indicating a 119% surge. Petrochemicals, bitumen, gas, lead, vegetable seeds, carpet, pistachios and tiles were among the main exports. The imports chiefly included rice, cows, fruit, sesame, chickpeas, beans and lentil.
