LAHORE - Ambassador of Iran to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost has said that Iran and Pakistan should concentrate on trade and economic activities to further improve bilateral relations.

"Iranian Free Trade Zones have great potential for Pakistani businessmen and they should avail this opportunity through joint ventures," the envoy said.

He was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid, Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rashid, Vice President Zeshan Khalil, former Presidents Syed Mohsin Raza Bukhari, Sohail Lashari and Executive Committee Members also spoke on the occasion.

The Iranian ambassador said that Iran and Pakistan have multi-functional and multi-aspect relations. Both countries should adopt new approach.

He said that though trade between the two countries is growing gradually but still it is below the potential.

He said that business organisations of the both countries should be given wake-up call so that they can play their due role for the strengthening of trade and economic ties between the two countries.

He said that Iranian Embassy and Consulate are always open for Pakistani business community.

He said that Iran can help meet energy demand of Pakistan. He said that negotiations for establishment of banking channel and currency swap are well on the way.  He said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor is a big achievement that would also help reduce tension in this region. LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid said that the bilateral trade has not reached its desired level which was promised during the visit of President Hassan Rouhani between the two countries and there is a dire need to close the communication gap among the business community on both sides.

He said that the balance of trade has always been in favour of Iran because oil was the major item of import from Iran.

In 2016, the total imports from Iran were worth $323 million out of that the value of mineral fuels/oils was dollar 193 million as compared to mere dollar 58 million in 2014.

Malik Tahir said that Pakistan's exports to Iran are not picking up. From the last three years, these have been well below $ 50 million. There are many avenues such as meat, fresh fruits and vegetables and textile products that can increase economic activity with Iran.

"There are some bottlenecks in the way of increasing trade between two countries which are required to be addressed on priority basis. Such as establishment of banking channels is the need of the hour. If this is not possible in near future, LCCI recommends to have Barter Trade agreement and Currency Swap agreement just like we have recent understanding with China", the LCCI president added.

He applauded the efforts of Iranian ambassador for initiating direct flights from Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad to Tehran and Mashhad.  He urged the Iranian ambassador to bring forward the telecommunication companies from Iran, since the talk time from Pakistan with Iran cost almost 3 times as compared to other countries.