Pak-India trade: need emphasised to resolve issues threatening growth

President, Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ashok Kumar Barat has emphasised the need of resolving small issues impeding growth of business between India and Pakistan first and then going for the issues such as that of bio-gas. Speaking at a dinner meeting of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Monday, he said time is ripe to resolve the issues on priority basis.
Barat said BCCI was established in July last year to enhance two-way trade and bring the business communities of the two counters closer. "We want to bridge the distance between the business community and general pubic", he remarked. He noted that now both the governments look keen to smoothen trade activities. He informed that the chamber has more than 4,300 members and it can provide all possible assistance for the matchmaking.
Referring to the small and medium business sector, he said India has very large SME sector and added that emphasis should be placed on matchmaking in this sector between the two countries.
BCCI president agreed with the suggestion that the two countries should increase flights between Mumbai and Karachi and suggested that mobile rooming services should be allowed so that people could SMS to each other. He also called for allowing coastal shipping between India and Pakistan.
Concluding, he said it is his third visit to Pakistan and he always felt that people of this country have a soft corner for India and love to have good relations with them.
In his address, Leader of Businessmen Group and former President KCCI, Siraj Kassim Teli opined that Pakistan will benefit more than India by giving the latter the status of Most Favoured Nation. He said India is a very big market and Pakistan must penetrate in it to get its due share.
Chairman, Sindh Board of Investment, Zubair Motiwala expressed the two countries have the potential to increase two-way trade to 15 billion dollars, which, at present, is around two billion dollars. He stressed that travelling between the two countries should be made easy and country-visa, instead of cities, should be issued.
Referring to Thar Coal, he said Pakistan is an energy deficit country and needs investment in this sector. India has vast experience in this sector having similar reserves. It should be allowed to invest in Pakistan, he added.
Expressing his views, president KCCI, Mian Abrar Ahmed said government to government contacts are essential but to bring optimum and meaningful results, business to business, chamber to chamber and pubic to pubic contacts are also imperative.