News
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Pakistan, Iran to boost bilateral trade to $10bn* Two sides agree to expedite gas pipeline and 1,000 MW electricity projects
* Gilani says Pakistan wants very close relations with Iran
* Ahmadinejad says Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan should make coordinated efforts to solve problems of security and development
TEHRAN: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Iranian President Mehmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday agreed to boost trade between the two countries, at $1.2 billion dollars, to 10 billion dollars and promised to spare no effort in this regard.
During the meeting at the President’s House, the two leaders said that an increase in collaboration between the two countries was important for enhancing trade volume compatible with their proximity and potential.
The prime minister and the Iranian president agreed that the Gas Pipeline Project and the import of 1000MW electricity from Iran be expedited as Pakistan was facing an acute energy shortage which was hampering the pace of growth of its economy.
The Iranian president said that Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan should make coordinated efforts to solve the problems of security and development.
The prime minister disclosed that a committee jointly headed by the foreign ministers of the two countries and a security committee headed by the interior ministers of the two countries would deliberate upon issues on a regular basis with a view to make their borders safer and to boost economic activities and trade between the two countries.
Prime Minister Gilani said that there was a paradigm shift in Pakistan’s foreign policy and that it now wanted to maintain close relations with neighbours and that Iran was one of those countries with which it would like to have very close relations.
President Ahmadinejad assured Prime Minister Gilani that Pakistan would be given priority in meeting the trade requirements of Iran and that the goods and services in Pakistan would be given preferential treatment.
Both sides agreed that it was not possible to realise the immense potential of trade between the two countries without effective communication and transport links.
Gilani urged the upgradation of rail, road and air links between the two countries. He highly appreciated the gesture by the Iranian government when it donated $ 100 million for flood victims in Pakistan.
Gilani reaffirmed that Pakistan wanted a sovereign, independent, prosperous and stable Afghanistan and that it supported the process of reconciliation which was Afghan-led and Afghan-owned. The prime minister added that his country was part of the solution and not part of problem. He said that Pakistan had suffered from casualties of 5,000 of its troops and that an equal number of them were disabled, while also suffering from casualties of 35,000 of its civilians, which was the price Pakistan had paid in the fight against terrorism.
President Ahmadinejad said, “We should increase people to people contacts and cultural cooperation, because we have a lot of commonalities among our people.”
The Iranian president urged a new world order based on humanitarian values and justice. “The world is going through transition at a very fast speed and it is imperative that innovative strategy should be evolved and implemented to offset its negative fall-out on our people,” he said.
The Iranian leader agreed to give serious consideration to Pakistan’s demand for opening a consulate at Bandar Abbas to facilitate person-to-person contact. Gilani said that successive visits of the president and prime minister clearly showed the high importance Pakistan attached to its relations with Iran.
The Iranian president agreed to declare Multan and Rasht (Gilan) as sister cities. Also, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar met her Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi in Tehran on Sunday and held substantive discussions on bilateral issues and measures to strengthen bilateral economic ties. Foreign Minister Khar is accompanying Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on his visit to Iran.
Foreign Minister Khar apprised the Iranian foreign minister of the magnitude of the devastation caused by monsoon rains in southern Pakistan and thanked him for Iran’s immediate assistance. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk