Pakistani Ambassador to Iran Muhammad Mudassir Tipu announced on Friday that Pakistan’s border crossing with Iran at Taftan and Gabd will remain open 24/7 to promote business between the neighbouring countries. Calling it a big step forward, the ambassador said it would hopefully sharply increase the flow of goods between the two countries and consequently widen economic opportunities. Pakistan and Iran on April 24 reiterated the importance of energy cooperation and electricity trade, despite the warning of potential sanctions hinted at by the United States following the then Iranian president Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi’s three-day visit to Pakistan. Agreeing to turn the common border between the two states from a ‘border of peace’ to a ‘border of prosperity’, both countries had reiterated the importance of cooperation in the energy domain, including trade in electricity, power transmission lines and Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project. During Raisi’s visit to Pakistan, both sides had underscored the imperative of a long-term durable economic partnership and collaborative regional economic and connectivity model, particularly for socio-economic development in Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan and Pakistan’s Balochistan provinces.
