Free Trade Agreement likely in Iran president’s visit to Pakistan: envoy

ISLAMABAD: Iranian Ambassador Dr Reza Amiri Moghadam said on Thursday that a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is likely to be finalised in the upcoming visit of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Pakistan. Addressing the business community during his visit to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), the Iranian envoy said the FTA would increase mutual trade and several bilateral economic and trade agreements would also be signed during the visit. He also said that the two countries need to have strong air, maritime and sea links, which will strengthen the economic relations and Pakistan will also be connected to regional and global trade. The ambassador emphasised the closeness of maritime links, especially Karachi and Gwadar and Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports and said that Gwadar and Chabahar should be declared as sister ports. The Iranian ambassador said that the current bilateral trade volume was just $2.5 billion, which increased by 11 per cent in the last 11 months. “After the FTA and bilateral agreements for the promotion of mutual trade, there is a strong possibility that the mutual trade between Pakistan and Iran would reach $5bn in the next few years,” he added.