Pezeshkian emphasized the goal of expanding annual bilateral trade to an ambitious target of $10 billion in the near future.Visiting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have expressed satisfaction over the progress in trade talks between Tehran and Islamabad, reiterating their shared vision to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $10 billion in the near future.In a statement by the office of the Pakistani prime minister on Sunday evening, Pezeshkian and Sharif met and exchanged views on numerous issues, after an official welcoming ceremony, first in the limited capacity and then at the level of high-ranking delegations."The two sides continued their talks on expediting the holding of the 22nd meeting of the Iran-Pakistan Joint Economic Commission. Also, issues such as the development of barter trade, increasing exports of agricultural products, activating border markets, and removing trade barriers were discussed.Earlier, Iranian Minister for Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Atabak and Pakistani Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan held discussions to deepen economic ties, agreeing to increase bilateral trade from the current $3 billion to $8 billion annually.“Geography is an advantage. Pakistan and Iran must utilize this discount of distance. If we don’t, we lose both time and cost benefits,” Khan stated.Both ministers agreed on the importance of identifying specific sectors such as agriculture, livestock, services, energy, and cross-border logistics for future collaboration.Before departing from Tehran, Pezeshkian had said Iran and Pakistan have always maintained “good, sincere, and deep relations” and plan to increase bilateral trade volume to $10 billion.Meanwhile, Sharif, while hailing the long-standing relations, expressed his solidarity with the Iranian nation and leadership in the face of the recent Israeli aggression and praised Iran’s courageous stand in the 12-day war against the Zionist regime.He expressed condolences for the martyrdom of Iranian military commanders, scientists and citizens and also commended Tehran’s stance during the recent Pakistan-India tensions.In return, Pezeshkian thanked the Pakistani government and nation for their unwavering support during the critical days and said that the Iranian nation will not forget this fraternal stance.The full text of statement by the office of the Pakistani prime minister is as follows:_PMO Press Release No. 244/2025__Prime Minister's Office__Press Wing_Islamabad : 3 August, 2025_Meeting between the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Prime Minister of Pakistan_H.E. Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who is currently on an official visit to Pakistan, met Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister House today. Upon arrival at the Prime Minister House, President Pezeshkian was received by the Prime Minister and presented a guard of honor followed by the official welcome ceremony. The two leaders then held talks in a narrow format, followed by delegation level talks between the two sides. During the talks, the Prime Minister was assisted by the Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Sen. Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, as well as other important Federal Ministers, Ministers of State and senior government officials. (ICE TEHERAN)

Fonte notizia: IRNA