TEHRAN – Iran and Pakistan put the seal of approval on Paragraph 2 of Article 18 in their mutual customs agreement on Friday inked earlier in the first round of negotiations, the Persian service of IRNA reported yesterday.

Iranian officials flew to Islamabad on Thursday to bring the details of the accord to full consensus with the help of their Pakistani counterparts in a three-day official trip. The said the paragraph stipulates that any illicit goods traffic will be dealt with accordingly and both sides are bound to exchange information on smuggled goods.

Furthermore, the talks are aimed at construction of more border point crossings besides the Kuwaiteh railroad connection that holds largest bulk of exports from Pakistan to Iran. Pishin, Mirjaveh and Kuhak are also other established border markets handling part of trade exchange at $400m annually and the delegates on both sides are trying to increase the volume to one billion dollars.

Absence of customs house at Radik of Pakistan has practically rendered Pishin inactive, however, Islamabad has decided to construct three more such houses soon to facilitate import-export business, the report indicated. For now, Mirjaveh in Baluchestan of Iran and Taftan on the other side have been the legal and active point between the two both historically and traditionally.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s exports to Pakistan are mainly comprised of steel, crude oil, gas, unprocessed cotton, vegetables, boats and vessels, chemical products, construction materials, saffron, condensed iron ore, tea, honey, foodstuff and dried fruits.

In turn, Iran receives rice, machinery, linens, clothing, and sports and surgical equipments. ML/MA END MNA