Saif-ur- Rehman calls for stronger Pakistan-Iran economic cooperation

LAHORE, Jul 12 (APP): Coordinator to Federal Tax Ombudsman Saif-ur-Rehman on Sunday urged Pakistan’s engineering and logistics sectors to actively participate in Iran’s post-war reconstruction through commercial partnerships with the Iranian private sector.

Talking to a delegation of traders here, he said Pakistan’s skilled and semi-skilled workforce, with comparatively lower labour costs than their Iranian counterparts, could play a significant role in reconstruction activities.

He said Iran’s opening of six trade routes to Central Asia and Azerbaijan had created new opportunities for Pakistan, stressing the need to improve customs procedures, border infrastructure, logistics and road connectivity to benefit from the emerging transit corridors.

Saif-ur Rehman said that if sanctions on Iran’s energy exports were eased, Pakistan should replace informal fuel imports with transparent commercial purchases of discounted Iranian crude oil while developing strategic petroleum reserves at Gwadar. He also called for the full operationalization of six border markets to promote economic activity in Makran Division, supported by Special Economic Zones supplying goods for cross-border trade.

He urged the government to revive negotiations on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline by aligning pricing with global benchmarks and to expand electricity imports from Iran to help reduce power shortages in Gwadar and adjoining areas.

The coordinator further called for enhanced bilateral cooperation in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, dairy technology and scientific research, saying a stable and economically revitalized Iran would create significant opportunities for Pakistan.