Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Sunday left for Pakistan amid high expectations of the latter announcing the first major step to normalise trade with New Delhi, granting most favoured nation (MFN) status to the former by this year-end.
According to the mutually agreed road map, Pakistan is committed to shifting its trade regime with India from the Positive List to the Negative List (NL), effecting a multi-fold increase in the Indian goods available in its market.
“We have every reason to believe there is an expressed wish and desire on part of Pakistan to move to the (negative list) regime, which would deepen and diversify trade and enhance economic engagements,” Sharma told reporters in New Delhi.
When asked if he was confident that Pakistan would announce shifting to the NL regime during the visit, he said, “This was the understanding given to us when the their commerce secretary visited in November.”
When questioned about the multiple-entry visa regime, he said the issue would be discussed during the visit. “Both governments have talked. The drafts have been exchanged. We favour a multiple-entry visa regime to facilitate the movement of business leaders of both countries as part of the normalisation process,” he said.
According to the road map for granting the MFN status to India, Pakistan will dismantle the NL by the end of this year, under which, all partners have equal rights. “Pakistan moving to the NL regime as declared will be a major boost to two-way trade. We expect trade to double in the next three-four years from the current $2.7 billion,” Sharma said.
However, according to industry estimates, improved ties between the two countries can translate into bilateral trade worth $10 billion by 2015. Indo-Pak trade amounts to less than a per cent of their respective global trade. India extended the MFN status to Pakistan in 1996 and does not impose equivalent formal restrictions on exports or imports from it.
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“It is our hope,” the minister said, “that taking the economic relationship to a higher level will create an environment of trust and confidence, which is essential not only for the two countries but the entire Saarc region.”
Sharma, along with a 120-member strong delegation, will visit Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad to interact with Pakistani CEOs and officials. The main objective of the three-day visit is to normalise trade ties between the countries. Apart from calling on Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani and President Asif Ali Zardari, he will also address the 6th SAFTA ministerial council meeting in Islamabad on February 16. He and his Pakistani counterpart Makhdoom Amin Fahim would monitor the progress of the integrated check post at Attari-Wagah border tomorrow. The ambitious project is spread over 130 acres and will cost Rs 120 crore.