KARACHI, Feb 9: Deputy to the Governor General of Khorasan on Planning and Financial Affairs, H. Zare Safat on Monday suggested to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry for setting up of Iran-Pakistan joint chambers of commerce on the pattern of Iran-German and Iran-Australian chambers of commerce.

Inviting the KCCI president and other members of the Chamber to visit Iran, he said the Khorasan province was a big industrial hub of Iran and enjoyed position of a gateway for Pakistan to do business with European countries.

Underlining the need for more interaction between the businessmen of the two countries, H. Zare Safat said that there existed a great potential to promote bilateral trade.

He assured that Iran would be showing all flexibility in providing maximum facilities and incentives to the businessmen of Pakistan for the promotion of bilateral trade, investment in Iran and establishment of industrial and business joint ventures in both the countries.

KCCI President Siraj Kassem Teli underlined the need to strengthen trade ties between the two Islamic countries in the wake of globalization policy and the WTO regime, coming into operation from 2005.

There is a total trade of $947 million during the last three years between the two countries - 90 per cent is the import of oil and petroleum products from Iran. The trade in other articles and commodities is highly negligible, the KCCI president said.

He, therefore, emphasized that import regime in Iran should be more liberalized and the private business sector's role needed to be augmented. "There is a need that solo exhibitions are allowed to be organized in Iran to introduce Pakistan's products there as Pakistan has been allowing holding of solo exhibition by Iran," Mr Teli mentioned. -APP