Pakistan and Iran seek to Increase Trade – Iranian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan

Islamabad Pakistan is in the final stages of negotiating a deal to increase its electricity imports from Iran tenfold, a Pakistani government spokesman said Tuesday, part of a push to boost trade if sanctions relating to Iran’s nuclear program are phased out.

Pakistan’s trade with Iran, worth $1.3 billion in the financial year 2008-9, plummeted to $217 million dollars in the 2013-4 financial year.

The drop came after the United States, European Union and UN imposed sanctions aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear program, which Western powers suspected was aimed at creating a nuclear bomb. A deal reached last month means the sanctions could soon be phased out.

US Senator Brian Schatz said on Monday he backs the US-led international nuclear deal with Iran, moving President Barack Obama one vote closer to locking in enough Senate votes to make the deal fly.

Iran currently exports around 100 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the areas of Pakistan that border Iran. Pakistan is in the final stages of negotiating a deal that will increase that to 1,000 MW, said Zafar Yab Khan, the spokesman for the Ministry of Water and Power.

“It’s likely to be finalised shortly,” he said. “The power purchase agreement would include a transmission line.”

He declined to give details until the agreement is signed.

Energy-starved Pakistan suffers about 12 hours of power cuts per day and is keen to import Iranian oil and gas, said Robina Athar, additional secretary in Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce.

[button color=”” size=”” type=”” target=”” link=””]”The biggest issue right now is the payment mechanism,” said Athar. “Both central banks are in communication and hope to find a mechanism before sanctions are lifted.”[/button]

Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif will visit Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Thursday (August 13).

The Foreign Minister will call on the Prime Minister and hold bilateral talks with Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said a press release issued from the office of Foreign Office.

The Foreign Minister will brief Pakistan side on Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action on nuclear issue of Iran, which was agreed in Vienna on July 14, 2015.

The two sides will exchange views on further enhancing of bilateral relations and regional and international issue of mutual interest. – APP