LCCI urges India to allow investments in Pakistan

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Friday urged Indian government to permit Indian investments in Pakistan in the same fashion it has granted permission to Pakistani investors.

Talking to visiting Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna at a reception hosted by Indian High Commission, LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, according to the LCCI spokesman, said that liberalisation of visa regime for bona fide businessmen, early removal of Pakistan-specific non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and permission to Indian investors for investment in Pakistan are of utmost importance for enhancing bilateral trade to desired levels.

He said those confidence building measures (CBMs) would go a long way towards normalisation of bilateral relations between the two countries, and stressed the need for Indian investments in equities, real estate, industry and financial sectors.

He said liberalisation of visa regime for bona fide businessmen was prerequisite for frequent meetings between the businessmen of the two countries. “If the businessmen would not be able to visit their counterparts at will, any improvement in bilateral trade and economic relations between the two sides would be day dreaming.”

The LCCI President said the low volume of trade between India and Pakistan needed to be tackled with concerted efforts from both the sides.

He said India and Pakistan should promote regional trade on the pattern of Asean, EU and Nafta to boost bilateral trade, adding that the promotion of trade was the only way to minimise the political tension in the region. He said the NTBs imposed by the Indian government were blocking the smooth flow of Pakistan’s export into India. “If we would have strong trade relations the political relations would get better automatically,” he said.

Irfan Qaiser Sheikh also stressed the need for promoting border trade particularly through land routes which was in favour of both the countries. He said potential gains from increased economic integration between India and Pakistan were large whereas the mutual trade between the two countries was unnaturally small.

Informal trade via third countries (such as the United Arab Emirates, specifically Dubai), is estimated around two billion dollars to three billion dollars per year, and this trade could obviously be undertaken bilaterally at significantly lower cost.

He said India should allow the representatives of private sector of Pakistan to establish trade offices for various products in India. “We believe that easing restrictions on visas, specifically allowing multiple entry visas for businessmen, eliminating the requirements to report arrival to the police at each place of stay, abolishing city-specific visas, and speeding up the approval processes can ensure facilitation to explore new avenues of trade promotion.”

The LCCI president said, “We, the business community, are committed to have a serious, sustainable and constructive engagement with India and early and full normalisation of relations on the basis of mutual non-interference, peaceful co-existence and respect for each other.”