Tessori calls for boosting Pak-Iran trade relations

Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori has expressed his intention to enhance trade relations with Iran and other friendly nations.

The relations between Pakistan and Iran are not only at the governmental level but also at the people-to-people level, he said on Friday during a meeting with a delegation of representatives of Iranian universities at the Governor House. The meeting was attended by Iranian Vice Consul General Ghulam Abbas Zaboli, Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) Chairman Prof Dr Mukhtar Ahmed and other officials.

The governor said he was optimistic about the positive and far-reaching outcomes of the visit by the delegation comprising representatives from various Iranian universities. He told the meeting that he had visited Iran twice where he held discussions with governors, the foreign minister and other officials.

He also mentioned that he had awarded an honorary doctorate degree to the late Iranian president Seyed Ebrahim Raisi when the latter visited Pakistan. Tessori reiterated Pakistan’s desire to boost trade with Iran and other friendly countries. The government’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) aimed at providing extensive facilities to investors, he added.

He informed the Iranian delegation that the Governor House had been providing free IT courses to 50,000 students and discussed plans for starting language courses in Chinese, Turkish, Persian and German languages.

The governor stressed the importance of enhancing bilateral trade between Pakistan and Iran and praised Iran’s local governance system, emphasising the need for extracting benefit from each other’s experiences. The HEC chairman told the meeting that Pakistan had been progressing in the fields of science and technology.

Prof Dr Seyed Abolhassan Navab, head of the Iranian delegation, expressed his longstanding affection for Pakistan, commending the hospitality of its people and popularity of Pakistani mangoes, rice, and sugar in Iran. He lauded the initiatives at the Governor House, including IT courses for youth, ration distribution to needy people, and addressing public grievances.

Addressing students at the IT marquee at the Governor House, Prof Navab spoke on his extensive travel experiences of 46 years, describing Pakistanis as courteous and aware people having strong morals. He noted that Pakistan was the world’s first Islamic republic and the first Islamic nuclear power. He affirmed his lifelong commitment to strengthening Pakistan-Iran relations.