Chief minister Punjab for efforts aimed at improving Indo-Pak trade ties

Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan and India can eliminate poverty and improve living standard of their people through establishment of permanent peace between the two countries. He was addressing the visiting delegation of Indian industrialists led by Indian Minister for Trade, Industries and Textiles Anand Sharma at a meeting here on Monday.
Shahbaz said promotion of trade between Pakistan and India is in their interest, therefore they should take meaningful steps for this purpose. He said time has proved that disputes cannot be solved through wars. It is a fact that new avenues of relations can be opened between the two countries through trade and economic cooperation.
However, result-oriented efforts are essential for resolving the basic issues between the two countries, he stressed and warned if this does not happen then these issues will be big hurdles in Pak-India relations.
Shahbaz told the Indian delegation that poverty, ignorance and diseases were common enemies of Pakistan and India, therefore they should allocate more resources for poverty alleviation, education and health sectors.
He said significant progress could be made for establishing durable peace between Pakistan and India through promotion of trade but for this purpose it is necessary that both the countries move forward like good neighbourers.
He said although it is difficult yet it is possible. "We have to utilise our resources for improving the living standard of the people because it is a lesson of history that no one received anything from wars," he added.
He said "we should remember that the European countries fighting wars in the past are now achieving new heights of progress and development through European Union".
Addressing the meeting, Indian Minister for Trade, Anand Sharma said Pakistan and India are opening new vistas of cooperation through industry and trade. Both countries need resources for marching forward so that poverty could be eliminated from the region.
Senior Advisor Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa, representatives of Pakistani and Indian business community also spoke on this occasion and highlighted the prospects of improving bilateral relations through promotion of trade.
Indian High Commissioner Shurat Subharwal, High Commissioner of Pakistan in India Shahid Malik, Pervaiz Malik, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Mian Mansha, Khawaja Salman Rafique, Hafiz Mian Nauman, President Lahore Chamber Irfan Qaiser Shaikh, Syed Yawar Ali, Shahzad Ali Malik, Chief Secretary Punjab Nasir Khosa and Provincial Secretary Health Capt. Arif Nadeem (Retd) also attended the meeting.