LAHORE : The Iranian Consul General MuhammadHussain Bani Assadi has said that Pakistan and Iran has thepotential to cater to each other's needs provided the businesscommunity in the two countries has exposure to the availableopportunities.
The Iranian Consul General was speaking at the Lahore Chamber ofCommerce and Industry on Tuesday. LCCI President Shahzad Ali Malik, former LCCI President MohsinRaza Bukhari, EC Members Dr Shahid Raza, Mian Zahid Javaid, SheikhMohammad Ayub and Tanvir Ahmad Sufi also spoke on the occasion andthrew light on as to how the bilateral relations between the twocountries could further be improved. The Iranian Consul General said that the business community inthe two countries would have to increase interaction to share theirexperiences in the larger interests of the people of two brotherlynations who have many commonalities. He said that the volume ofmutual trade between Pakistan and Iran does not match the level oftheir brotherly relations. He said that both the countries and theirrespective trade bodies would have to focus on expansion of trade byholding single country exhibitions or through trade delegations toeach other's country. He said that it was the duty of the chambers of commerce both inIran and Pakistan to ensure dissemination of sector-specific andtrade-related information. He said that both the countries shouldalso share their experiences in the filed of science and technologyalso. He said that Agriculture, Tourism sector and Metal industry ofIran have a lot of opportunities of investment therefore Pakistanibusiness community should avail this opportunity. Speaking on the occasion, the LCCI President Shahzad Ali Maliksaid that Pakistan and Iran are two brotherly Islamic countries.Therefore, maximum efforts are needed to strengthen their relationsin all fields. He said both the sides need to conduct Market research to furtherstrengthen trade relations between the two countries. Priorityshould be given to each other for import of goods rather than buyingfrom distant countries. There is a lot of scope for collaboration in SMEs and megaprojects like onshore and offshore oil & gas exploration activities,hydel and coal based energy projects, paper & board, sugar, cement,chemicals, transport & communication, construction of roads inPakistan, scientific & educational cooperation, handicrafts,artificial jewellery, carpets, fancy furniture etc. Shahzad Ali Malik said Pakistan is basically an agriculturalcountry bestowed with variety of seasons and agro-based products.But due to lack of post harvest technology a lot of agricultureproduce is wasted. Hence, cooperation in technology from Iran canhelp PakistanIs agro-based food processing and dairy industry toimprove. Pakistan is one of the leading countries and known around theglobe for its textile potential and products, which still needs tobe properly introduced in Iranian business houses. Such efforts canalso prove vital to equalize our trade balance. Moreover, Cereals were the largest export item to Iran, whichaccounts for 44.89 percent of total exports. Articles of leather,animal gut, harness, travel goods, cotton and man-made staple fibreshave the share between 9% to 12%. He said Pakistan has always experienced an adverse balance oftrade with Iran, which suggests that Iran needs to import more fromPakistan to create a win - win situation for both the countries. He said there is a lot of potential to take it to over US$ 2billion mark if the smuggling could also be curtailed. Though traditionally, the balance of trade favours Iran butcurrently, this gap is also increasing showing abrupt increase inthe last couple of years. For instance, it was US$ -311.5 million in2008 but it became US$ -703.7 million in 2009. We would like to havesome greater share in bilateral trade which may guarantee someeconomic benefits to Pakistan as well. PPI