PESHAWAR, Jan 4: Speakers at a seminar underlined the need for a closer economic cooperation between Pakistan and Iran.

They were of the view that the bilateral economic relations between Pakistan and Iran had received a serious setback due to the emergence of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, reducing the total volume of trade between the two countries only to $89.30 million in 1998-99.

Presenting her paper on the “Pak-Iran Trade Relations and Its Future Prospects,” at the concluding session of the two-day seminar entitled “Pakistan-Iran Relations in Historical Perspective,” here on Saturday, Ms Asma Shakir khawaja, a researcher at the Islamabad Policy Institute, said that geo-strategic and political situation in the region, particularly after the emergence of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, had cast a negative impact on the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran.

The two-day seminar was jointly organized by the Department of History, University of Peshawar and Iranian Culture Centre, Peshawar.

Academicians of different universities from across the country presented their papers.

Vice Chancellor of the Peshawar University Dr Zulfiqar Hussain Gillani presided over the concluding session of the seminar.

Quoting figures of the federal ministry of trade and commerce, Ms Asma said that 1995-96, the total trade between Pakistan and Iran stood at $300.7 million and it further reduced to only $89.30 million in 1998-99.

In 1999-2000, she pointed out, the volume of exports to Iran was $11.48 million, while in 1995-96 the country exported goods worth $118.1 million to Iran.

She said Tehran’s tough policies for foreign investors had discouraged Pakistani traders and businessmen. Besides, she said, the emergence of extremism in Pakistan led to mistrust between the two brotherly countries, which badly hampered relations. She stressed the need that both countries should bury the past differences and look for future cooperation.

Dr Talat A. Wizarat, Chairperson of the Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, while presenting her paper on “Pak-Iran relations and the US war on terrorism,” underlined the need for initiating constant dialogues between Pakistan and Iran to strengthen economic, social and cultural relations between the two neighbouring countries.

She said that lack of interactions at higher levels created misunderstandings between the two countries, adding that both countries should promote people-to-people contacts to promote bilateral ties.

She called for a Russia-Iran-China-Pakistan axis to counter the US designs and said Tehran could play a vital role in bringing these states at a single forum. She said that US was trying to create a misunderstanding between Pakistan and Iran by laying a gas-pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan via parts of Afghanistan.