Leader of Indian trade delegation and President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Onkar S Kanwar, has suggested a joint Pakistan and India interactive portal where business leaders can travel through cyberspace and put their needs on the portal for items of export and import, and receive responses, automatically. Addressing a joint press conference with Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) at a local hotel, he said that the portal should contain continuously moving policy changes that are taking place in the emerging markets.
Onkar S Kanwar suggested that official trade could be facilitated if warehouses are built on Waga border, where trucks unload on one end and re-load on the other, "as we do today in the Indo-Bangladesh border". This infrastructure case will itself start moving goods at a higher pace.
He said that it is imperative to open up trade from India to Pakistan across a large number of sectors, which at present is limited to 768 items. Instead of a small positive list of 768 items, there should be a negative list from Pakistan's side of sectors that they wish to protect, and all other sectors must open up for trade.
He said that this would become a stepping stone to the grant of 'Most Favoured Nation' (MFN) status.
Regarding issuance of visa and opening of consulates at Karachi and Bombay, he said that he would take up the matter with his government. He pleaded that both governments should ease visa regulations for the businessmen of the two countries, with no city specification, multiple entry and long term.
He proposed that FPCCI and FICCI be authorised to certify genuine business leaders on the basis of which they would receive multiple entry and long visas for the entire country, as is the case in all other countries vis-à-vis India or Pakistan.
The Co-president of India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IPCCI), who is also vice present of FPCCI, Azhar Saeed Butt, noted that the estimated value of Pak-India trade through illegal channels is over $2 billion, which is much higher than the official trade between the two countries, which deprives the exchequer of huge revenues in both countries.
He emphasised that by opening trade this illegal trade could be curtailed.
He said that Pakistan could benefit immediately through Indian expertise in the IT and IT-related services.
He said that buying from Pakistan must be an important aspect of future economic relationship between the two countries because balance of trade is in favour of India.
Arshad Alam, Chairman, FPCCI Press Committee, said that India should import items that are comparatively low priced in Pakistan, instead of international market.
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