President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Gholam Hossein Shafei on Saturday underlined the significance for both Iran and Pakistan to pay due attention to barter trade and transit cooperation.
Shafei made the remarks in a meeting with Pakistani Consul General to Mashhad Muhammad Sheryar Khan.
He said that Iranian and Pakistani economies are complementary to each other and there are significant potentials which can led to a hike in bilateral transactions.
Referring to the efforts made by the Iranian government to boost trade with Pakistan over the past two years, the Iran Chamber of Commerce president said that efforts have been on the agenda in regard to preferential tariff and then moving towards free trade.
He said that there are problems on the way of implementing these plans so that economic interactions are not yet satisfactory.
Shafei noted that the two countries have been recently working on barter trade schemes with Zahedan Chamber of Commerce pursuing the issues on behalf of Iran and Quetta Chamber of Commerce being in charge of the matter on the Pakistani side.
He also said that Iran and Pakistan face different problems in the area of transit and transportation.
Iranian truck drivers have serious problems for crossing into Pakistan, Shafei said, adding that the two countries also need to take steps to improve customs infrastructures.
The Pakistani side, for his part, said that both Iran and Pakistan have to pay due attention to enhancement of bilateral relations.
Sheryar Khan said that the Pakistani consulate general in Mashhad stands ready to pursue the affairs.
He said that he agreed with the Iran Chamber of Commerce president that there are problems on the way of transportation, noting that the Pakistani drivers also have difficulty receiving visa for travelling to Iran.
He stressed the need for expansion of economic ties with the focus on the capacities of the two neighbors.