Iran and Pakistan are expected to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) within the next six months, says a senior Pakistani government official, amid efforts by the two neighbors to boost their bilateral trade.
Pakistan’s Minister for Commerce Naveed Qamar said on Thursday that Pakistan and Iran will in the next few months give a final shape to an FTA that aims to promote the value of bilateral trade between the two neighbors to up to $4 billion per year.
Iran and Pakistan are currently on a preferential trade arrangement under which the two countries have sought to reduce some trade barriers and tariffs.
Qamar was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan that Islamabad and Tehran will, in the meantime, exchange trade lists for various sectors of their economies while trying to further reduce tariffs on exports and imports to reach a reasonable framework for signing an FTA.
The minister made the comments while attending the 21st Session of Pak-Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in Islamabad where Iran’s Minister for Roads and Urban Development Rostam Ghasemi was also attending.
Qassemi leads a senior delegation of Iranian government officials and business representatives during his trip to Pakistan.
The minister said on Wednesday that the decision by Iran and Pakistan to hold the JEC meeting after a five-year hiatus showed the two countries were determined to boost their economic ties.
The APP said Iran and Pakistan signed four major cooperation documents during the JEC meeting in Islamabad on Thursday. The agreements will cover cooperation between the two countries on maritime issues as well as on media, tourism and ties between their national museums.
PressTV
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
