Speakers at a seminar were of the view that trade is the best way to improve relations and build confidence between Pakistan and India apart from creating employment opportunities to eradicate poverty in both the countries. Centre for Peace and Democracy in collaboration with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) organised the seminar, here on Friday.
Former Finance Minister, Dr Salman Shah, SPD Director M Shoaib Adil, LCCI SVP Sheikh Muhmmad Arshad, Convenor of LCCI Pak-India Trade Promotion Committee, Aftab Vohra, Economist, Dr Qais Aslam and PIAF Chairman, Sohail Lashari spoke on the occasion.
The speakers maintained that Pakistan that has annual import bill of around $12 billion is importing goods worth around $600 million only from the SAARC member countries. Pakistan and India need to work for ensuring uninterrupted bilateral trade which will help strengthen their economies and promote regional integration in South Asia, they said.
Dr Salman Shah said that both India and Pakistan should focus on promoting trade and economic relations to create new hopes and a better future for their people. Presently, the regional trade of South Asia is just 2 percent while Pak-India trade is not more than 0.5 percent of our GDP, which should be enhanced in the interest of public of all the countries in the region, he said. Conversely, EU countries and the Asian are presently trading more than 22 percent of their GDP, he added.
Dr Salman Shah said that Pak-India official trade is of $2 billion out of which $0.6 billion is under export while $1.4 billion is under import. He stressed the need for enhancing this trade balance with the neighbouring country. He brushed aside a notion that free trade with India would eliminate our industry, saying it would rather be beneficial for both the countries and their people. He said negotiations should be preferred over confrontation to solve all problems between the two countries.
SVP LCCI, Sheikh Arshad said India should fully reciprocate all efforts of Pakistan to improve relations, as Islamabad could not promote trade unilaterally. He said the national interest should be kept supreme while establishing relations with other countries. He said that Pakistan exported goods valued at $268.33 million and imported $1.03 billion in 2009-10 whereas, Pakistan suffers a trade deficit with India and trade is in India's favour. He drew the attention of India towards delays in the issuance of business visas to members and requested to simplify the visa procedures.
Aftab Vohra said that the country imports Indian goods up to $3 billion through informal trade via Dubai and Singapore, and if this trade is allowed from India directly in a legal way the cost of trade will go down enormously, besides improving the government revenue. He said that by removing non-tariff barriers from her side India could pave the way for Pakistan to enhance its trade and to narrow down the trade deficit. He said the unauthorised trade could be converted to legal business through frequent interaction between both the countries chambers and trade associations, which will stop smuggling entirely and lower the cost significantly.
He observed that Pakistan imports some Indian items through informal trade via Dubai and Singapore which is estimated around $2-3 billion per year, and this trade could obviously be undertaken bilaterally at significant lower cost. PIAF Chairman, Sohail Lashari said, "We believe to enhance bilateral trade between the two countries, with regular exchange of trade delegations and interaction between the leading trade associations with active participation in exhibitions of two countries. Bilateral trade has a potential to increase up to $5 billion."
He said that trade between India and Pakistan is less than 0.5 percent against their total trade and this should be increased. If South Asian states manage to promote their trade under SAARC this would mean that a huge market of around 1.3 billion people only next to China could be created. The member states will have a number of advantages based on specific factors of extreme convenience, he added.
Dr Qais Aslam said if South Asian states manage to promote their trade under SAARC it means it would be a huge market of around 1.3 billion people, he added. Besides the short distance there would be less freight cost which would ensure quick deliveries and short inventories. The member states would have no language barrier and would be kept abreast of each other's trade practices and fashion needs. All this will result in complementing each others's economy.
However, all this is possible if India and Pakistan resolve their political disputes through dialogue, he added. He said that promotion of trade is the only way to minimise political tension in the region. The two neighbouring countries should not mix trade with politics and the business community should be allowed to carry on with their trade without hurdles, he added.
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