Bureau Report
PESHAWAR: Iranian Consul General in Peshawar Hamid Reza Ghomi has said that Iran had a keen interest in CPEC. Addressing businessmen at Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here, he said that Iran wanted to boost bilateral trade and economic relations with Pakistan to strengthen the regional economy. “Iran has a keen interest in CPEC. Our government has been in contact with both Pakistan and China. CPEC is a beneficial project for the region,” he said.
The meeting was also attended by SCCI senior vice president Engineer Manzoor Elahi, Iranian Second Consul Seyed Ebrahim Dehnadi and other officials of the Iranian Consulate in Peshawar.
According to a statement issued by SCCI, Ghomi said efforts were initiated to sign a free trade agreement between Iran and Pakistan.
The Iranian diplomat said that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Iranian consulate facilitated Pakistani businessmen and issued visas to them within a short span of time.
He lauded the efforts made by the Pakistani ambassador in Iran, saying he played a vital role in increasing trade volume between the two countries.
He added that the Iranian ambassador in Pakistan would soon visit Peshawar to hold a meeting with businessmen to know their problems.
The envoy asked the Peshawar-based businessmen to cement trade relations with Mashhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry to take benefits from each other’s experience and boost trade activities between the countries.
Earlier, the businessmen led by Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Sherbaz Bilour discussed a number of issues for improvement of the bilateral trade volume with the envoy.
Both sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral trade between the two countries by signing a free trade agreement (FTA), installation of an effective banking channel, establishment of markets at border regions, elimination of illegal trade, exchange of business delegation and organising joint trade exhibitions.
