The 20th session of the Iran-Pakistan Joint Economic Commission was held on 17-18 April in Tehran. The Iranian side was chaired by Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli and the Pakistani side was headed by Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Quadir Baloch.
The session aimed at following up on the implementation of agreements reached during the 19th session held in Islamabad in December 2014, which are in line with increasing trade and commercial transactions up to 5 billion dollars per year.
After signing an MoU on expansion of economic cooperation, Rahmani Fazli voiced satisfaction over reaching agreements in various fields of economy, trade, industry, energy, communications, and security issues.
“It was decided that a main committee and 8 subcommittees be formed for holding joint meetings in four months from now until the next joint commission’s meeting is held in Pakistan next year,” he said.
Rahmani Fazli went on to add that over 13 documents and agreements were previously signed between the two countries, the implementation of which was stressed upon during the Monday session. He also added that 12 documents were approved in the latest session.
“It was decided by the two sides that the volume of our trade transactions with Pakistan reach $5 billion by 2021,” he said.
Recently, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) signed an agreement with the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) for banking and payment mechanisms cooperation. The mechanism will be used for payment of trade conducted via letter of credit (L/C) and in accordance with international laws and regulations.
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