Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attended a business forum with his Pakistani counterpart, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, on Monday as part of an effort to achieve a five-billion-dollar target of bilateral trade.
"Efforts need to be redoubled by the two sides to fulfill the target set by the two countries' top officials in 2016 to raise bilateral business to as much as five billion dollars within five years," Zarif told Iran-Pakistan Business Forum in Islamabad on Monday.
He called for closer cooperation between the two sides' banking sectors, which is the key to trade efforts.
"Despite the considerable increase in business relations between Iran and Pakistan, they still can be developed far beyond the current level given the untapped potential and resources available in the two countries," Zarif was quoted as saying by IRNA.
***Main Hurdle
"The main factor preventing us from exploiting the existing potential is lack of banking relations. So facilitating banking relations should be the top priority in efforts by the two sides to expand economic cooperation."
Zarif arrived in Islamabad on Sunday at the head of a high-powered economic delegation.
The three-day trip came at Asif's invitation, during which Zarif met Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
He was also due to sit down with other top officials, including Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Asif told the forum that he expects remarkable progress soon in negotiations that are underway between the Pakistani and Iranian banking sectors.
"There is an urgent need to create a favorable atmosphere, bolster communications and improve dealings between the two countries' business communities," the top Pakistani diplomat added.
The top-level delegation accompanying Zarif include 30 business leaders, active in various economic sectors.
Zarif was also scheduled to address a business meeting between the two sides' delegations in Karachi.
Asif traveled to Tehran in September and held talks with top Iranian officials on bilateral relations and regional developments, particularly efforts to restore peace to the common neighbor Afghanistan.
Tehran and Islamabad have stepped up security cooperation to counter terrorist groups operating along the shared border.
