Baku, Azerbaijan, March 25
By Emil Ilgar - Trend:
A 60-member Iranian economic delegation arrived in Islamabad on March 25, a day before starting President Hassan Rouhani's official visit to Pakistan, IRNA reported.
The delegation, headed by the Head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture Mohsen Jalalpour is to discuss and evaluate the ways of boosting trade ties with Pakistani businessmen, IRNA says.
According to the report, Iran-Pakistan's trade turnover stood at $1.24 billion in the Iran's fiscal year, ended on March 21, 2015, but the statistics for the last fiscal year haven't been revealed yet.
Shaha reported on March 25 that Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh will accompany Rouhani in visiting Pakistan.
Previously, IRNA reported that negotiations over a long-delayed gas pipeline project is one of top agenda. Two countries is expected to sign a deal on power, aimed at exporting 3000 megawatts of Iranian power to Pakistan.
Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, is not dead and negotiations over realization of the project continue, the Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Company Hamid Reza Iraqi told Fars News Agency on March 24.
"Pakistan has agreed to build a 100km-pipeline from Gwadar port to Iran's borders to intake gas," Araqi added.
Pakistan should have started importing Iranian gas in January 2015, but it has yet to begin building the pipeline in its territory. Iran can get a $200m compensation from Pakistan each month owing to delays, but they are still negotiating the gas deal.
Iran's Deputy Energy Minister Houshang Falahatian told IRNA on March 22 that exporting 3000 megawatts of power to Pakistan is possible.