Pakistan issues new guideline for Iran barter trade to aid businesses
Pakistan’s ambassador to Tehran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, said on Sunday that Islamabad had issued a new executive guideline aimed at promoting barter trade with Iran, amid concerns from the business communities in both countries.
Mudassir Tipu said via his official X account that the new guideline, known as Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO), was issued “after a long and comprehensive review process,” and incorporates solutions to many concerns raised by Iranian and Pakistani traders.
He expressed hope that the measure would significantly boost trade between the two neighbors and diversify its foundations.
The ambassador invited industrialists and business communities from both countries to take full advantage of the guideline and contribute to the expansion of bilateral trade. He also urged chambers of commerce and trade organizations in Iran and Pakistan to share the guideline with their members to ensure mutual commercial benefits.
The development follows Pakistan’s Finance Ministry approval on October 2 of a draft submitted by the Ministry of Commerce to revise the bilateral barter trade agreement with Iran. A few days later, the federal cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, endorsed the decision of the Economic Coordination Committee.
He described the issuance of the SRO as a key step in strengthening economic ties between the two countries and creating a more structured and predictable framework for barter trade.
Last year, bilateral trade reached $3.129 billion, with $2.423 billion in Iranian exports to Pakistan and $700 million in Pakistani exports to Iran.
During President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to the Pakistani capital earlier in August, a $10 billion bilateral trade target was agreed between Tehran and Islamabad.