TEHRAN – Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) hosted a meeting with a delegation of senior Pakistani state officials on Monday, during which the two sides discussed ways of expanding economic exchanges between the two countries’ private sectors.

As reported by the TCCIMA portal, the meeting was attended by the Secretary General of the TCCIMA Bahman Eshghi, and TCCIMA Deputy Head for International Affairs Hessamedin Hallaj.

At the beginning of this meeting, Eshghi introduced TCCIMA as the largest chamber of commerce in the country, noting that the business enterprises based in the capital Tehran account for about 50 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

He pointed to the historic relations between Iran and Pakistan and said: “After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Iran-Pakistan relations have been very friendly both in the period before Iran’s Islamic revolution and after the revolution.”

Eshghi described the extent of the economic cooperation between Iran and Pakistan as broad and said: “The continuation and development of this cooperation require the exchange of knowledge and experiences of the parties, and the chambers of commerce can become the center of such exchanges and communications.”

Referring to the pressures of Western sanctions on both countries, he called this situation a common point for reviewing bilateral relations and considered it the duty of the private sectors of the two countries to resolve problems and improve trade relations despite the sanctions.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Eshghi put forward three proposals for improving the trade relations between Iran and Pakistan and said: “The first step to realizing this goal is to deepen the relations between the businessmen of the two countries. The TCCIMA will be active in this regard and it is necessary for the Pakistani side to take measures as well.”

He, next, underlined the necessity of preparing a list of exchangeable goods and products between the two countries, saying that the two neighbors, despite having a long relationship, have little knowledge of each other's market needs.

Finally, the official stressed the need for promoting joint investment by the two sides, noting that joint cooperation does not necessarily require large investments, and small companies can also pioneer in the path of such joint investments.

EF/MA