Pakistan, Iran hold joint economic commission

Tehran, IRNA – The opening session of the 21st Iran-Pakistan joint economic commission has been held in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. The opening session of the commission was held on Wednesday morning, cochaired by Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shahriar Afandizadeh and Secretary Ministry of Economic Affairs of Pakistan Muhammad Humair Karim. In the opening session, the Pakistani and Iranian high-ranking delegations discussed the agenda of the commission as well as a draft of a memorandum of understanding. Afandizadeh referred to the friendly relationship between Pakistan and Iran, which led to the progress of both nations, noting that the joint economic commission indicates the growing trend of mutual relation between the two neighboring states. The Iranian official went on to say that extension of strategic ties between Islamabad and Tehran, organization of trade exchanges, improvement of border cooperation, as well as establishment of joint industrial towns, are among the objectives of the 21st Iran-Pakistan joint economic commission. The commission is going to pursue the development of joint transportation equipment, improvement of rails and roads, expansion of collaborations in energy sector, and implementation of a gas export pipeline from Iran to Pakistan, Afandizadeh noted. According to the deputy minister, the two sides plan to sign memoranda of understanding concerning different sectors and review avenues to improve cultural ties. The Pakistani side, for his part, underscored that the bilateral relationship between the two neighboring states plays a key role in guaranteeing mutual interests, noting that Pakistan sees the joint economic commission as an appropriate opportunity to pave the ground for expanding ties with Iran. The representatives of both countries are going to hold a technical session in the afternoon to exchange views on trade, commerce, banking, customs, tax affairs, productive industries as well as export guarantees. The official meeting of the 21st Iran-Pakistan joint economic commission is scheduled to be chaired by Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development Rostam Ghasemi on Thursday. Federal Minister for Commerce and Investment Syed Naveed Qamar as well as some high-ranking officials from ministries of both countries are going to take part in the commission meeting. The 20th session of the Iran-Pakistan joint economic commission was held in Tehran on April 17-18, 2017. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish