ISLAMABAD: Iran has renewed its proposal for a currency swap arrangement with Pakistan to promote trade.

Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, who was on a two-day visit to Pakistan, pitched the currency swap proposal again during a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday.

Although security cooperation was high on the agenda of the top Iranian security official’s visit, the two sides also deliberated on opportunities for expanding cooperation.

PM expects Chabahar and Gwadar to complement each other, not be rivals

The two countries had explored the possibility of doing trade in their currencies in the past, but progress could not be made then due to the sanctions on Iran.

The proposal has now been made at a time when sanctions are about to be lifted and the two neighbours are discussing ways to increase their bilateral cooperation.

The current volume of bilateral trade is about $230 million per annum, but the two countries are eyeing to increase it to $5 billion over the next five years.

Mr Shamkhani said there was a lot of scope for enhancing bilateral economic and trade links.

The two countries are also discussing a proposal for establishing a fibre-optic link.

Mr Sharif was quoted by the Prime Minister’s Office as having told the Iranian guest that Pakistan expected Chabahar and Gwadar ports to complement each other instead of being rivals.

On the regional situation, Mr Shamkhani emphasised that any initiative on Afghanistan should involve the Afghan government and should not be seen as bypassing it.

During their talks on Wednesday, the two countries agreed to cooperate on Afghanistan, and Pakistan expressed its readiness to accept Iran’s mediatory role for revival of the reconciliation process.

“A stable Afghanistan is in the best interest of Iran and Pakistan,” Mr Shamkhani told the prime minister.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2015

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