India not to withdraw sops to Pak under Safta
India has decided that it will not withdraw concessions promised to Pakistan under the Safta despite Islamabad’s refusal to extend concessions to New Delhi on products beyond the 773 items in the bilateral positive list.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: India has decided that it will not withdraw concessions promised to Pakistan under the Safta despite Islamabad’s refusal to extend concessions to New Delhi on products beyond the 773 items in the bilateral positive list.
India will, however, continue its fight against Pakistan’s discriminatory decision and take up the issue at the SAARC ministerial council meeting in October this year.
According to minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh, Pakistan’s decision to trade with India only a small number of items kept in the positive list violates the spirit of the free trade pact, he said.
However, he said, India remained committed to the agreement and would continue to offer tariff concessions and make unilateral efforts to reduce non-tariff barriers on products of export interest to other South Asian countries.
India had registered its objections to Pakistan’s effort to limit trade with New Delhi at the SAARC foreign minister’s meet earlier this month. India had said that it was a negation of the agreement and jeopardised implementation of the pact decided upon by the leadership of all seven member countries.
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India said the Pakistani move will have bearing on the success of the SAARC process itself. As the foreign ministers were unable to resolve the issue, the matter was referred to the SAARC commerce ministers meet later this year.
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