Pakistan and Iran have the potential to cater to each other’s needs, Iranian Consul General Muhammad Hussain Bani Assadi said. Speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday, he said that the Pakistan-Iran business community would have to increase interaction to share their experiences in the larger interests of people of the two brotherly nations, who have many commonalities.
The volume of mutual trade between Pakistan and Iran does not match the level of their brotherly relations, he said, adding that both countries and their trade bodies would have to focus on expansion of trade by holding single-country exhibitions or through exchange of trade delegations.
Assadi said it was the duty of chambers of commerce, both in Iran and Pakistan, to ensure dissemination of sector-specific and trade-related information. Both sides also needed to share their experiences in the field of science and technology. He underlined that the Pakistani business community could avail a lot of opportunities in Iran’s agriculture, tourism, and metal industry.
On this occasion, LCCI President Shahzad Ali Malik said that Pakistan and Iran were two brotherly Islamic countries; therefore, greater efforts were needed to strengthen their relations in all fields.
He said that there was a huge scope for collaboration in SMEs and mega projects like onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration activities, hydroelectric and coal-based energy projects, paper and board, sugar, cement, chemicals, transport and communication, construction of roads in Pakistan, scientific and educational cooperation, handicrafts, carpets and fancy furniture etc. Pakistan is an agricultural country, but a lot of agriculture produce is wasted due to shortage of post-harvest technology. Hence, cooperation in technology from Iran can help improve Pakistan’s agro-based food processing and dairy industry, he maintained.
Pakistan is one of the leading countries, possessing great textile potential and products, which still need to be properly introduced in Iranian business houses. Moreover, cereals were the largest export items to Iran, which account for 44.89 percent of the total exports. Articles of leather, animal gut, harness, travel goods, cotton and man-made staple fibers have a share between nine to twelve percent, he added.
