Anand Sharma's Pakistan visit is not sure yet

NEW DELHI: Uncertainty looms large over Commerce Minister Anand Sharma's visit to Pakistan next week as the neighbouring country is yet to resolve issues raised by New Delhi.

"The minister's visit is subject to Pakistan agreeing to implement the three main proposals agreed on by the two countries to boost the bilateral trade," a ministry official said.

The Commerce Secretary in January-end had written a letter to his Pakistani counterpart demanding expeditious implementation of the agreed issues.

The tree main agreed proposals are allowing trade of all goods through Wagah-Attari border, dismantling of the negative list of 1,209 items and bringing down the sensitive list of items to 100 under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) over a period of five years.

At present, only 137 items can be traded through Attari- Wagah land border. Pakistan had already missed the deadline to eliminate the negative list. Dismantling of the list would automatically lead to grant of Non-Discriminatory Market Access (NDMA) to India, though India for long has insisted on Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status.

As per the schedule of Sharma's Pakistan visit, the Minister is expected to inaugurate the 'India Show' in Lahore on February 14 and participate in bilateral meetings the next day In Islamabad. The schedule is, however, not yet finalised.

The official said that all these issues were discussed and agreed on during Pakistan's Commerce Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan's India visit recently.

"We are awaiting the response of our letter from Pakistan. Indian minister's visit will only fructify if we get a positive indication that something is happening in Pakistan," the official said, adding, "If Pakistan wants some more time, they should communicate that to India".

Under SAFTA, India has also agreed to reduce its senitive list of items to 100 from 614 in one year.

The bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 2.6 billion in 2012-13.

India's main exports to Pakistan include sugar, man-made filaments and chemicals, while its imports comprise mineral fuels, among others.