Islamabad- Iran on Tuesday voiced strong interest in deepening Iran-Pakistan economic cooperation by making greater use of the Karachi and Gwadar ports, as a visiting delegation from Tehran met Pakistani officials in Islamabad, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mohammad Atabak led the delegation and co-chaired the 10th session of the Pakistan-Iran Joint Trade Committee alongside Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan. Atabak said Tehran places the “highest priority” on widening ties with what he called the “brotherly nation of Pakistan,” and added that talks on a bilateral free trade agreement were progressing well and could conclude soon.
Pakistan and Iran reaffirmed their commitment to expanding bilateral trade to $10 billion during the 10th Joint Trade Committee meeting in Islamabad, focusing on free trade agreement, border cooperation, logistics and regional connectivity.#Pakistan #Iran pic.twitter.com/o4lpBD9peA
— IranPress (@IranPress_eng) August 4, 2026
Key Highlights:
- Iranian minister Mohammad Atabak co-chaired the 10th Pakistan-Iran Joint Trade Committee session in Islamabad
- Tehran seeks expanded trade through Karachi and Gwadar ports
- Free trade agreement talks reportedly nearing conclusion
- Meeting follows Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni’s visit two weeks earlier
- Pakistan notified six land routes for goods transit to Iran in April 2026
- Both countries previously targeted $10 billion in bilateral trade
Ports Seen as Anchor for Wider Trade Push
Jam Kamal Khan told the delegation that operationalizing joint border markets was essential for improving livelihoods on both sides of the frontier. He said the private sectors in Pakistan and Iran “trust each other and stand ready to trade,” and that it was now the government’s job to provide a “seamless, structured and predictable environment” for that trade to grow. He also called for finalizing roadmaps to carry the economic partnership “to new heights.”
Tuesday’s session came about two weeks after Momeni’s visit to Islamabad, where he met Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi. That meeting produced an agreement to expand railway cooperation and revive the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul freight train service, along with broader measures to strengthen cross-border connectivity, according to an official statement at the time.
Trade Routes and Targets Already in Motion
The groundwork for the current push was laid earlier this year. In April, Pakistan notified six land routes for transporting goods to Iran against an encashable bank guarantee, backed by a statutory regulatory order under the Transit of Goods through the Territory of Pakistan Order 2026. Last year, the two neighbors signed a series of protocols at the Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic Commission in Tehran aimed at removing tariff and non-tariff barriers, expanding electricity exchanges, and improving communication channels, with officials setting a bilateral trade target of $10 billion.
Observers note that the pace of ministerial visits this year, from railways to trade to interior affairs, points to a broader effort by both governments to move past incremental cooperation and toward structured, port-anchored trade growth in the months ahead.
