The fourth meeting of the Pakistan-India Joint Business Forum (PIJBF) saw Abdul Basit, High Commissioner for Pakistan, call for strengthening trade ties.
"Pakistan wants a level-playing field for promoting and further strengthening trade ties with India. There is need to address concerns relating to market access, tariff and non-tariff barriers. At the same time, innovative proposals and ideas may also be explored which can help create economic inter-dependence between the two countries. Mutual economic dependence will boost confidence amongst the business communities and make economic cooperation sustainable," he said.
The High Commissioner added that the meeting between the Prime Ministers of the two countries on 27 May was very positive, with both the leaders agreeing to move forward from confrontation to cooperation. Talking about a meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of two countries scheduled for 25 August in Islamabad, Basit said that Pakistan was looking forward to a meaningful and result-oriented dialogue process.
The PIJBF, comprising top business leaders of the two countries, was established in 2013. The fifth meeting shall be held in Lahore, later this year.
