Iran is seriously working to overcome the energy crisis of Pakistan, said Iranian Consulate General Mohamamd Hossain Bani Asadi on Saturday. He was talking to Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) office bearers and its business community, wherein a large number of exporters and industrialist were also present at the occasion.
He said Iran wants to boost bilateral ties with Pakistan and our embassy will issue business visa on same day and one-year multiple visa may also be issued to the Pakistani Businessmen. He further added that Pakistan is a big producer of milk and meat in this regard meat and milk may also be exported to Iran.
He also appreciated the textile industry of Faisalabad, which is contributing in economic development of Pakistan. He stressed to work jointly for the betterment of trade relations. Iran had laid the gas pipe line in very short time; Pakistan may initiate to develop the infrastructure for the import of gas. Iran is keen to minimise the energy shortage of Pakistan in this regard 100MW electricity project will complete in one and a half year and a 1000MW project from Zedan to Quetta is also under discussion, he added. The consulate is also arranging Iranian Products Exhibition at expo centre Lahore in third week of April.
Earlier, in his welcome address, President FCCI Muzammil Sultan said that Faisalabad alone has been contributing about 40-50 per cent of the total textile exports of the country during the last many years. There is tremendous trade potential between the two countries. It is pertinent to mention that during the Pak-Iran President's meeting in Islamabad, rail and road links between the two countries, energy projects, the early realisation of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, and other projects of regional connectivity were also discussed.
Furthermore, expeditious implementation of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipelines project and the 1,000 MW electricity transmission line and 100 MW Gwadar Port power supply in order to meet the country's growing demand for energy and power. He further added that Iran is Pakistan's important trading partner but still there is a wider scope of co-operation to enhance our bilateral trade. Trade between the two countries is heavily tilted towards Iran and this can be gauged from the fact that in the last financial year the size of bilateral trade between the two sides was at Rs 1.491 billion, out of which exports from Iran stood at $1.233 billion.
During question answer session, former vice president FCCI Engr. Sohail Bin Rashid, Chaudhry Asghar Ali and Chaudhry Jameel Ahmad, Chaudhry M. Boota, Rana Sikandar Azam, Abdul Sattar Alvi, Haji M. Abid, Malik Muhammad Arshad and Haji M. Basheer also highlighted issues before the Consulate. At the end of meeting Vice President, FCCI Rehan Naseem Bharara offered vote of thanks, whereby President FCCI Muzammil Sultan presented the FCCI Memento to the Consulate.