LAHORE, Oct 15: Senior Punjab Minister Raja Riaz Ahmad has said that Iranian investors should benefit from opportunities offered by Pakistan in the agriculture, industry and energy sectors.

Talking to Iranian Consul General Saeed Kharazi here on Wednesday, Mr Raja said that both Pakistan and Iran had common interests in south Asia. The democratic government in Pakistan was trying to fight terrorism and poverty by increasing economic opportunities for people.

He said Pakistan was facing water and power shortage because the previous government had neither built any dam nor any powerhouse. The present government would boost power generation and control water scarcity. He said the provincial Irrigation Department had identified 317 points on barrages/canal falls where small hydel power stations could be set up for generation of 600 megawatt of hydel power.

Consul General Saeed Kharazi said that Iran could help Pakistan in fulfilling its energy needs as it was producing 35,000 megawatt of electricity. The Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project was of vital importance for Pakistan to fulfill its increasing energy needs.

He said that an exhibition of Iranian goods would soon be held in Lahore and the governor of Mashhad province of Iran would also visit Lahore to cement bilateral ties. Iran wanted to enhance cooperation in the fields of agriculture and Industry as Punjab had vast potential of investment in these sectors.