Pakistani Forum Hails Restoration of Tehran-Islamabad Banking Ties

Ibrahim Qureshi on Saturday said that the lifting of the sanctions and restoration of banking channels between Pakistan and Iran would revive normal trade and business activities between the two neighbors, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday.

“The central bank has taken a very timely decision and now there are significant opportunities for Pakistan to enhance bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation with Iran. In the absence of a banking channel, bilateral trade had been affected badly with Iran and the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) move would help facilitate the business community in terms of secured bilateral trade transactions,” he said.

He further expressed the hope that the volume of bilateral trade between Tehran and Islamabad could reach over $3 billion just in one year.

The remarks came after Pakistan’s Central Bank announced earlier that all of the South Asian country’s commercial banks and financial institutions have been cleared for business with Iran.

"In line with the federal government's decision to implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution regarding lifting of sanctions against Iran, the State Bank of Pakistan has communicated to banks/financial institutions that previous sanctions on Iran have been removed and normal business activities can be commenced within the scope of the Resolution," the central bank said in a statement on Friday.

There has been growing international interest in trade and banking ties with Iran since Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015 finalized a comprehensive deal on Tehran’s nuclear program and implemented it on January 16.

The comprehensive nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), terminated all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran after coming into force.