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Business Standard
4 hours ago
- Business Standard
Pak, Iran agree to increase bilateral trade volume to $10 billion annually
Pakistan and Iran on Sunday agreed to enhance bilateral trade volume to $10 billion from the current $3 billion annually as they signed 12 agreements and MoUs after talks between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Prime Minister Sharif announced the new bilateral trade target while addressing a joint press meeting with President Pezeshkian after their talks during which they also agreed to strengthen cooperation to combat militancy along their shared border, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). The agreement to enhance bilateral trade volume to $10 billion was reached earlier in the morning during a meeting between Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Iranian Minister for Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Atabak. Sharif also said that Iran has the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, which had been at the heart of the current conflict with Israel. Pakistan stands with Iran for the acquisition of peaceful nuclear power, Sharif said as he condemned recent Israeli attacks against Iran and appreciated Tehran for its forceful defence of the country. Pakistan and Iran exchanged 12 agreements and MoUs in the presence of Sharif and Pezeshkian. These included cooperation in trade, agriculture, science, technology and innovation, information and communications, and maritime safety, among other issues, the APP said. Prime Minister Sharif on Sunday said that the leadership of Pakistan and Iran were keen to enhance the bilateral trade volume to the target of $10 billion as soon as possible, the APP said. The two leaders also discussed issues related to terrorism and agreed to strengthen cooperation to combat militancy along their shared border, it said. On his part, Pezeshkian said that the MoUs signed included one about finalisation of the free trade agreement at the earliest between the two sides. President Pezeshkian expressed satisfaction that serious and sincere efforts were being initiated by both sides for cooperation in diverse fields, and to take their current trade volume of $3 billion to the projected target of $10 billion, the APP said. President Pezeshkian landed in Lahore on Saturday afternoon and flew to the capital later in the evening. Meanwhile, after Khan's meeting with Atabak, a statement by Pakistan's Commerce Ministry said the high-level discussion between the two leaders marked a renewed commitment from both sides to accelerate trade, remove border bottlenecks, and build trust-based partnerships across priority sectors. The meeting emphasised maximising the potential of neighbourhood trade, with Khan highlighting how ASEAN countries have benefited enormously by trading within their region. Geography is an advantage. Pakistan and Iran must utilise this discount of distance. If we don't, we lose both time and cost benefits, he stated. The Pakistani minister suggested organising targetted trade delegations that include representatives from federal and provincial chambers of commerce, enabling focused discussions on market access and regulatory facilitation, according to the statement. The ministers also expressed a shared commitment to increasing the use of existing trade corridors and border facilities. Atabak also highlighted ongoing discussions about increasing Pakistani exports to Iran and encouraged swift follow-up on newly signed agreements. Khan said that beyond bilateral gains, such connectivity could expand to Turkey, Central Asia, Russia, and even parts of West Asia, creating an economic bloc of substantial power and resilience. Atabak supported the idea of holding a dedicated B2B day during every high-level visit and offered to bring Iranian business groups to Pakistan for in-depth meetings, the statement said. Both ministers agreed on the importance of identifying specific sectors such as agriculture, livestock, services, energy, and cross-border logistics for future collaboration, the statement said. With high-level political alignment and mutual trust, Pakistan and Iran appear poised to enter a new phase of strategic economic partnership that could reshape regional trade dynamics, it added. Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research, a policy think tank in Islamabad, said the total volume of formal bilateral trade between Pakistan and Iran reached around $2.3 billion in 2022, with the trade balance largely tilted towards Iran. Iranian exports to Pakistan stood at $1.488 billion, mainly petroleum gas, electricity and petroleum coke. Pakistan's exports to Iran amounted to $842.8 million, primarily comprising Iron pipes, medical instruments and utility meters, it said in a September 2024 brief titled 'Pakistan and Iran's Struggle for Economic Cooperation'. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Print
6 hours ago
- The Print
Marcos Jr to be 5th Philippines president to visit India. Delhi-Manila diplomatic ties date back to 1949
For the Philippines, India has been an important defence partner. In 2022, they made a deal worth $374.96 million to purchase the BrahMos missile system. The second batch of the BrahMos system was delivered to the Philippines in April 2025. The two countries have also endeavoured to deepen the naval relationship between each other, through maritime exercises in the South China Sea, which are to begin on 3 August. 'Both countries have developed a strong partnership across a wide spectrum of areas, including trade and investment, defence and security, maritime cooperation, agriculture, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and digital technologies,' MEA S. Jaishankar said in a statement Thursday. He added that the two countries have closely engaged at regional level through India's Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN. New Delhi: Philippines President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr will arrive in India Monday for a state visit from 4 August to 8 August, with New Delhi seeking to expand its strategic footprint in South East Asia. This will be Marcos's first visit to India after taking office in 2022, and he will be accompanied by senior dignitaries and business representatives. India has increasingly become a key partner for the Philippines, as the situation in the South China Sea remains tense. Manila has, over the last couple of years, faced a number of incidents with China over disputed territories in the South China Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands. An arbitral tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague decided in 2016 that China's claims based on the 'nine-dash line' had no legal basis under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and that certain maritime areas fall within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Beijing rejected the directive. Last year, during a visit to the Philippines, Jaishankar announced India's backing for Manila's sovereignty, urging all parties to adhere to the UNCLOS in 'letter and spirit'. India's position irritated Beijing at the time, asserting that third parties have no right to interfere in the dispute. New Delhi-Manila ties in the past India and the Philippines have shared both strategic and cultural ties. Sanskrit has had a linguistic influence on the Filipino language, and artifacts discovered in the Philippines, show that India and the Philippines share a long history of cultural association. The August visit will follow the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and the Philippines. In November of 1949, soon after both countries gained independence, various treaties and agreements were signed and since then there have been several bilateral State Visits between both nations. In 1952, a Treaty of Friendship was signed, asserting the mutual aspiration to strengthen friendly relations and perpetuating 'peace and everlasting amity' between the two nations. India's Look East policy, launched in 1991, with the objective to develop stronger ties with the ASEAN countries, along with the 2014 Act East policy led to India taking a more enterprising role in developing a strong association with countries in the Southeast of Asia, including the Philippines. The MEA reaffirmed in his announcement that India's relations with the Philippines are an 'integral part of Vision MAHASAGAR and [India's] vision of the Indo-Pacific.' To date, there have been four Presidential Visits from the Philippines to India, the first being a stop-over visit from President Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1976, followed by an official three-day visit from President Fidel Ramos in 1997, during which he discussed trade and security with then Indian Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda. Next, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo came to India in 2007 and visited Mumbai, New Delhi, and Agra. In January 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte visited to attend the ASEAN-India Summit and India's Republic Day celebration as a chief guest along with other leaders of ASEAN, resulting in various talks regarding trade, investment, and defence cooperation between the two countries. From India, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi became the first Indian Head of State to visit the Philippines in 1981, where she met with ASEAN leaders. President R. Venkataraman visited in 1991, followed by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2006 on a three-day visit aimed at strengthening ties through MoUs on trade, investment, and agriculture. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Manila twice in his two terms, and President Ram Nath Kovind visited the Philippines to mark the 70th anniversary of Indo-Filipino relations. Modi and Marcos will hold bilateral talks on 5 August, which will be followed by a visit to Bengaluru before the President returns to the Philippines on 8 August. Mannat Randhawa is an intern with ThePrint. (Edited by Vidhi Bhutra)
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Time of India
Putin's Oreshnik Missile Leaves West DEFENCELESS; Ex-Pentagon Insider Warns
/ Aug 03, 2025, 04:21PM IST A former Pentagon official has made a startling admission about Russia's new 'unstoppable' hypersonic missile — the Oreshnik. In an interview with RT News, Michael Maloof warned that the West has no existing defence capable of intercepting the missile, which reportedly travels at speeds exceeding Mach 10 and can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads. Maloof emphasized that the weapon 'could easily shift the balance of power in favour of Russia,' describing it as a game-changer in modern warfare.
