Tehran, Islamabad agree to ‘expeditiously finalize’ Free Trade Agreement

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran agreed to expeditiously finalize the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and boost their bilateral trade to USD10 billion over the next five years, the joint statement issued from both sides said after Iranian President Raisi concluded an official visit to Pakistan.

According to the joint statement released by the Foreign Office spokesperson, Tehran and Islamabad agreed to further strengthen bilateral economic cooperation through a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and hold the next sessions of Annual Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) and Joint Business Trade Committee (JBTC) as well as the 22nd round of the negotiations of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in the near future.

“The two sides agreed to further expand trade and economic cooperation through joint development-oriented economic projects, including setting up of joint border markets, economic free zones, and new border openings. They also reiterated the importance of cooperation in the energy domain, including trade in electricity, power transmission lines, and IP Gas Pipeline Project,” the statement reads.

Earlier, at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, paid an official visit to Pakistan from April 22-24. The President of Iran was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising the Foreign Minister of Iran, H.E. Amir Abdollahian, as well as other members of the cabinet and senior officials.

Both sides agreed to enhance mutual interaction through regular exchange of high-level visits between political, military, and security officials to strengthen fraternal relations, the joint statement said. For border security, both sides reiterated the importance of forging regular cooperation to combat threats such as terrorism, narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, hostage-taking, money laundering, and abduction.

Both sides also agreed on highlighting the historical, cultural, religious, and civilizational ties through the promotion of academic, cultural, and tourism activities, and by enhancing tourism to historic religious sites in both countries.

Furthermore, the statement said, that as members of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the two countries expressed firm resolve to enhance cooperation in connectivity, infrastructure development, and energy sectors. The two countries also agreed to expand mutually beneficial and enduring linkages between the sister ports of Gwadar and Chahbahar.

Moreover, “While condemning terrorism in all its forms, both sides agreed to adopt a collaborative approach to confront this menace and to leverage the existing bilateral institutional mechanisms to effectively combat and counter this threat, while fully upholding the principles of the UN Charter, particularly the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states.”

In addition to that, both neighboring countries emphasized the need to resolve the issue of Kashmir through dialogue and peaceful means based on the will of the people of that region, and in accordance with international law.

Both sides expressed their strong and unequivocal condemnation of the ongoing Israeli regime’s aggression and atrocities against the Palestinian people, along with the inhumane blockade of Gaza that has resulted in widespread death and destruction as well as displacement of millions of Palestinians.

Tehran and Islamabad called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access to the besieged people of Gaza, return of the displaced Palestinians, as well as ensure accountability for the crimes being committed by the Israeli regime. They reiterated their support for a just, comprehensive, and durable solution based on the aspirations of the people of Palestine.

“The President of Iran expressed his appreciation to Prime Minister Shehbaz for the warm and generous hospitality extended to the Iranian delegation. The Iranian President also extended cordial invitations to the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan to pay official visits to Iran,” the joint statement concludes.