New depth in Pak-Iran ties

Courtesy:Pakistan Observer.
PRIME Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s two-day visit to Iran has proved to be a highly productive one as it has brought the two brotherly countries still closer in different fields. Apart from greater understanding on political and regional issues, the leadership of the two countries had fruitful exchange of views on cementing ties in various sectors to the mutual advantage.
       The outcome of the visit amply proved that the Prime Minister had done the necessary homework to get maximum benefit out of his interaction with the Iranian leadership. Right from the moment he talked to media before embarking on the plane for Iran, Mr Gilani conveyed a lot of optimism about the prospects of increasing cooperation with the neighbouring country especially in the field of commerce, industry and trade and his talks in Tehran demonstrated his sincerity of purpose. He categorically declared that under a policy revamp, Islamabad wants a very close relationship with Tehran and give fresh impetus to the existing bilateral ties in line with their proximity and potential in trade, security and other fields. It appeared that the two sides are determined to move swiftly towards this direction, as was visible from the understanding they reached during their talks. Their resolve to increase the bilateral trade from the existing just $1.2 billion to $10 billion and expedite completion of gas and power projects is manifestation of the desire of the two countries to take their relationship to new heights. We would, however, expect that while sorting out details of how to boost their trade, they would give due consideration to strike a balance as currently Pakistan’s exports to Iran constitute just 20% of the total volume of trade between them because of a number of barriers erected by Tehran on imports from Pakistan. Similarly, Iranian interest in expediting implementation of the gas pipeline project and power transmission lines is highly appreciable but Pakistan is still caught in bureaucratic rigmarole despite the fact that it needed completion of energy projects on fast track in view of the prevailing crisis. The world is today focusing on consolidating trade with neighbours and regional economic cooperation because of advantages of proximity and we too should focus on this strategy in letter and in spirit.

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