02 March 2004	Tuesday	10 Muharram 1425

ISLAMABAD, March 1: Pakistan and Iran are likely to sign seven agreements in various fields to enhance trade and cooperation between the two countries.

Official sources told Dawn on Saturday that these agreements would be discussed at length during the forthcoming 14th Pakistan- Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC) scheduled for March 3-4 in Islamabad. Finance minister, Shaukat Aziz will lead Pakistani delegation at the JEC.

The agreements to be discussed during the JEC included customs cooperation agreement; science and technology; cultural exchange programme; Pakistan-Iran Gas Pipeline project; avoidance of double taxation; agreements in road transportation and rail transportation and agreement on preferential trade arrangement (PTA).

During the JEC, the officials said the two sides would discuss all the agreements to develop consensus before these were finally signed. It was expected that following the consensus between the two sides, all these agreements would be signed during the subsequent visit of vice-president of Iran who was scheduled to visit Islamabad on March 5.

Pakistan and Iran had already signed agreement on May 27, 1999 for avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income between the two countries.

However, the same did not stand enforced as the formality for the exchange of instrument of ratification between the two sides yet to be completed. It was expected that during the Iranian vice-president visit to Pakistan the instrument would be exchanged for the implementation of the agreement between the two countries, the officials said.