Economy

Iran, Pakistan to do trade by barter soon

Iran and Pakistan will resort to barter soon, said a member of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA).

La’l Mohammad Baluchzehi added that a Pakistani delegation has been scheduled to visit Zahedan, the capital of Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, and hold talks on barter system and free trade with the ICCIMA officials.

The provincial official said Pakistan exports different products, including basic goods, clothes, bananas, and mangoes, to Iran while it imports various products from Iran such as petrochemical products, tiles, ceramics, apples, and dates.

According to Baluchzehi, the two sides have already negotiated on barter and the necessary arrangements have been made.

In November, Iran and Pakistan reached an agreement on barter trade aimed at expanding their transactions in the face of U.S. sanctions, Pakistani media reported.

The decision was announced by Pakistan’s Commerce Secretary Sualeh Faruqi in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce, reported the Pakistan daily Dawn.

Given the lack of banking channels with Iran, some issues existed in trading with Tehran and the barter trade agreement is expected to resolve the problems, said the commerce secretary.

The two neighboring countries have earlier announced that a free trade agreement would be implemented within the coming months, as Tehran and Islamabad are seeking to increase their annual trade volume to $5 billion by 2023.

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