KARACHI - mr Irfan Iqbal sheikh, President FPccI, has apprised that being neighbouring counties and having a shared border of 909 kilometres, Pakistan and Iran can take their bilateral trade to $5 billion within a short span of 2 – 3 years through creating interdependencies and complementarities in their trade and economics. mr Irfan Iqbal sheikh apprised that regional trade accounts for up to 75 percent among regional and geographically-contiguous economic and trade blocs around the world and that is a time-tested key to the regional prosperity. It is cost-competitive in not only in product pricing but also saves shipping costs, time-saving and creates healthy economic cooperation. It is pertinent to note that Pakistan-Iran solo exhibition kick-started in Expo centre Karachi on monday, whereas, mr Kamran Tessori, sindh Governor mr suleman chawla, sVP FPccI, inaugurated the expo – along with top Iranian diplomats. 75 Iranian companies are showcasing their competencies in varied products and services as diverse as oil and gas, petrochemical industries, water and electricity industries, foods (dairy, milk, sweets and chocolates), barbed wires, polymer products, tiles and ceramics, galvanised wires, mining, steel and allied industries, construction materials, agricultural products, various machineries, packaging products, home appliances, carpets, etc. mr suleman chawla, sVP FPccI, stressed that Pakistan needs Iran more than Iran does and the reason is their vast fossil fuel resource. We can import fossil fuels through land which is considered the cheapest route for imports, he added. mr suleman chawla informed that as a matter of fact Pakistan’s natural gas reserves are depleting and we have started importing RlNG. In 2011, we were 100 percent self-sufficient in gas and in 2021 our self-sufficiency has been reduced to 82.3 percent. mr Kamran Tessori, sindh Governor, emphasised that his office will not leave any stone unturned to make sindh a business, investment, industrialisation and trade friendly province. The only way forward for sindh is industrialisation and social uplift, he added. mr Tessori maintained that FPccI is the right partner for such single-country exhibitions and FPccI’s network in all parts and industries of the country can make bilateral trade with Iran grow to its true potential. mr hassan Nourian, consul General of Iran in Karachi, thanked the sindh governor and FPccI for their full support in making the trade exhibition a reality and ensuring a forthcoming attitude of the Pakistani business, industry and trade community towards the Iranian products, companies, businessmen and Iranian embassy’s endeavours to forge trade and commercial alliances between the two countries.