Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Tehran is ready to barter its gas and electricity for Pakistani goods.
He expressed these views during a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) currently underway in the Chinese capital.
With regard to the “current problems with Iran caused by the West’s sanctions”, Ahmadienjad said that the situation will actually change in favor of regional countries in the future.
The Iranian president called Tehran-Islamabad relations “friendly and brotherly”, saying this is very “natural”.
Ahmadinejad said that there is no problem for Pakistan to pay off Iranian exports by national currency or to export Pakistani goods to Iran.
US and EU adopted tight sanctions on Iran’s banking system, especially embargoing the Iranian Central Bank, which will be take force in late June.
Iran has had to replace other countries’ national currencies with USD and euro, also bartering deals and using the gold as a payment tool to keep on foreign trades.
Meanwhile Pakistan President Spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said that meeting was attended by relevant ministers and high officials from both sides.
The two leaders agreed to vigorously pursue the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project as well as supply of electricity to Pakistan.
The two leaders agreed to resolve urgently the issue of credit for the I-P gas pipeline so as to complete it expeditiously. Relevant minister and officials from both sides will now meet to further take forward the decisions taken in principle.
President Zardari also assured Iranian President that Pakistani territory will never be allowed to be used against Iran. Other bilateral matters and regional situation also came under discussion during the meeting.