India, Pakistan looking to expand trade via Wagah border

NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan are examining the possibility of expanding the list of items traded through the Wagah border, Pakistan's commerce minister Khurram Dastagir Khan said.

The neighbours officially restarted their trade normalisation talks on Wednesday when their commerce secretaries met in New Delhi after a 16-month gap.

Khan will meet commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma on Saturday morning in New Delhi and take up the issue of non-tariff barriers such as visa issues, which Pakistan says is a big deterrent to its exports to India despite Delhi giving it the most-favoured nation status back in 1996. Pakistan had agreed to give India an MFN status by December 2012, but missed that deadline because of political considerations.

India and Pakistan had agreed to a roadmap on September 2012, which said India would bring down its sensitive list under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement to 100 tariff line from 614 by April 2013, on condition that Pakistan would give India the MFN status by December 2012.

As per the roadmap, Pakistan would remove restrictions on trade through land route, and reduce the number of items on the sensitive list in a phased manner.

Meanwhile, speaking at a meeting organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, Khan said granting of quick visas to business visitors and tourists holds the key to bilateral economic development.

At another event, Khan said trade relations should not be derailed by individual events. "An unpleasant event happens and trade talks are suspended, which should not be the case. We are aiming to open up trade, and it requires a stable and predictable relationship, which doesn't exist at the moment," Khan said at a Saarc business leaders conclave organised by the Ficci.

Khan described visa restrictions and derailment of the on-going dialogue process between the two countries as "the biggest hurdles in implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement".

"Except the textiles sector, Pakistan has big interest in most of the sectors in India," he said. He also laid stress on the need to diminish trade barriers. "Customs at both sides should act towards pro-trade and the message should go to them from their governments in this direction," he said. Earlier in the day, India's commerce secretary SR Rao said there was a need to enhance trade through land route, particularly between India and Pakistan.