ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan must resolve their disputes through dialogue or any other means but should immediately move forward for ensuring better life to their masses who had so far only witnessed poverty and illiteracy and non-existence of medical and health facilities and trade is the only way to close both sides people in different sectors.
Member Export, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) and CEO Harvest Tradings, Ahmad Jawad said this while talking to PPI here Sunday.
Under World Trade Organization agreements, the MFN principle is supposed to ensure that WTO members don't discriminate against one another, allowing all countries in the organization to benefit equally from the lowest possible tariffs, he said. He said India granted Pakistan MFN status in the mid-1990s, but Pakistan declined to reciprocate despite its WTO obligations.
Both countries are members of the WTO and last year Pakistan has finally decided to live up to one of its most important obligations under that treaty: granting Most Favored Nation status to India and our federal cabinet has approved unanimously. Jawad said the trading volume between the two countries is presently around $2.5 billion, it may increase to cross $10 billion in next three to four years, by comparison, two-way trade between India and China is valued at more than $60 billion annually.
It "does not make any sense" that India's trade with Pakistan is at such a low level when that with its other neighbors Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is much more.
He said that tremendous opportunities exist for Punjab-to-Punjab cooperation.
"I see clear opportunity available as agriculture and food processing was one area in which both sides can benefit.
He said that best practices of pharmaceutical and textile sectors could also be shared. He underlined that Indian imports from Pakistan is only 0.12 percent of its total imports while Pakistan imports from India is 6 percent of total imports.
India imports from Pakistan should be increased to 2 percent from 0.12 percent.
Member Export ICCI further said we need to remove the non-tariff barriers and sensitive lists under the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA).
He asked India to treat Pakistan the same way as has treated Bangladesh and Sri Lanka under SAFTA. He urged that reality of cultural and geographical divides between the two countries must be accepted and had to move forward with.
"The potential of the two countries should be converted into an opportunity and both sides' custom authorities should accept each other goods with open minds. He also highlighted the missing link of rail route as both countries should utilise their respective train infrastructure for the promotion of bilateral trade.
Similarly Cargo trains may also be started to reduce the C&F cost. Similarly, he said Pakistan can take advantage with the oil refinery facilities established in Indian Punjab while India could be dependent on gas pipelines coming from Iran and Turkmenistan."
He said currently the business communities of the two countries were working with third country financial services i.e. Middle East increasing the cost of doing business.
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