Daily Times

The cooperation between Iran’s Chabahar and Pakistan’s Gwadar ports would enhance ties between the two countries, a group of diplomats and experts on foreign relations from Pakistan and Iran said.

According to a report published by Gwadar Pro, they stressed the use of capacities of regional economic organizations to strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations.

The diplomats and experts expressed the views during the Webinar “Iran-Pakistan Economic Partnership in the Post-Corona era” hosted by Golden Ring Economic Federation (GREF) in Lahore with the cooperation of the embassy of Iran. At the webinar, Mashallah Shakeri, Advisor to the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran and former Ambassador to Pakistan, and Madoud Mohammad Zamani, Senior Expert from Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), gave a wide view of bilateral cooperation between the two neighboring countries through video link. Other speakers at the webinar were Hasanin Reza Mirza, director of the Golden Ring Economic Research Institute, Defence Analyst Lieutenant General Sikander Afzal (retd), Aref Kamal, and Sanaullah former Pakistani ambassadors, and Qandil Abbas, Professor of international relations at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad.

The participants in the meeting explained the important and key policies of the two countries, especially in the geopolitical scenario in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, the developments of the subcontinent, and their impact on security and economic stability in the region.

The Iranian diplomats considered the development of cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries as a key factor in the expansion of Iran-Pakistan relations and said that linking the ports of Chabahar and Gwadar will pave the way for regional cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

They called for the use of the capacity of regional economic cooperation organizations, including ECO, and said that the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Pakistani experts stressed the importance of Iran’s joining CPEC project, saying that it would strengthen the long-term cooperation between Tehran and Beijing.

They praised Iran’s resilience to harsh US sanctions and stressed the importance of advancing energy projects in the region, including the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project with China, to avoid the US pressure and sanctions. The Pakistani speakers called for the establishment of a joint working group with the participation of the two countries’ private sectors to find ways of development.

The Iranian speakers also appreciated the recent remarks of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan in support of the Palestinian people against the Zionist regime. The concept of the Golden Ring Economic Bloc was initiated in 2010 based on which GREF was established in 2015.