Because of the problems on the way of financial transactions between Iran and Pakistan, promotion of barter trade is the best option for expansion of trade between the two countries, according to Fahimeh Damroudi, the secretary of Iran-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce.
Noting that enhancement of relations with neighboring countries is at the heart of President Ebrahim Raisi’s foreign policy, Damroudi underlined the significance of relations with Pakistan.
One of the first measures taken by the Iranian government was signing a trade agreement with Pakistan two months ago, Damroudi was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.
The agreement targets $5 billion trade between Iran and Pakistan for the next two years which will be fulfilled with preparing the ground for investment of Pakistani trade partners in Iran.
Iran also plans to pave the way for promotion of free trade with Pakistan within the next three months as part of its plans to increase ties with neighboring countries.
Noting that Pakistan and China trades with national currencies, she said that Iran is also ready for such agreements and is on the verge of trade with national currencies whish she however said will be a time consuming process.
Damroudi referred to a report by Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) which put Iran’s foreign trade in the first three quarters of the fiscal year (March 21 – December 21) at $72.1 billion.
The report said that $35.1 billion of the amount was Iran’s exports while the rest $37 billion accounted for the country’s imports.