Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir said that he would pay a two-day visit to Iran from December 28 to 29 to discuss Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and resumption of banking channels between the two countries.
In an exclusive interview with the Iranian State radio, the minister hoped that the two countries would be able to sign FTA by the end of 2017 which is aimed to expand the bilateral trade.
He said that his visit to Iran is a follow up on the valuable visit by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to Pakistan earlier this year.
“We are very much looking forward to progress on the five-year economic engagement plan that was signed during that visit,” he said.
Dastgir said that an offer by Pakistan to have Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has already been accepted by Iran.
“We have already exchanged drafts of the agreement”, he added.
The minister said that Iran and Pakistan have already held their first negotiations on FTA and there is great positivity on both sides to conclude it ideally by the end of 2017 and any issues in the signing would be resolved quickly.
He added that during his visit to Iran, he will also be discussing the prospects of broader energy ties with Iran, particularly in reference to the electricity that Pakistan is buying from Iran.
He said the current status of Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline would also be on the agenda of his upcoming visit to Tehran.
Dastgir Khan also reiterated that Iran and Pakistan are close to resolving the banking problem between the countries.
